Imperial Senate / Legends The Imperial Senate or Imperial Congress was the " de jure " legislative body of the Galactic Empire , though in fact it held little real authority . Instead , it served mainly as an advisory body to Emperor Palpatine . The Imperial Senate was the successor to the Galactic Senate of the Republic , which was reformed when the then Supreme Chancellor Palpatine declared himself sole ruler . History . Rise of the Empire . The Imperial Senate was established in 19 BBY after the Empire was founded by the self - appointed Emperor Palpatine , transforming the old Galactic Senate . Rather than risk directly seizing power and overthrowing the Senate , Palpatine subtly manipulated the Galactic Senate into voting incrementally more and more emergency powers to the Chancellorship during the Clone Wars . By the end of the conflict , Palpatine had gained near - dictatorial powers . The final stroke came following the death of Separatist leader Count Dooku during the closing days of the war , when Palpatine issued a decree creating a new class of Planetary Governor s and Sector Moffs appointed directly by the Chancellorship , to oversee all star systems in the Republic . A minority of Senators protested this action , but Palpatine brushed their complaints aside . Within a few days , the Clone Wars ended with the death of General Grievous in a duel with Jedi Master Obi - Wan Kenobi and the execution of the Separatist Council at the hands of Darth Vader . With the justification of a Jedi rebellion , Palpatine ordered Republic troops to wipe out the Jedi Order , and in a speech before the Senate , proclaimed himself Emperor . Senators who vocally resisted were intimidated into silence through brief imprisonment . On the whole , however , the transition from Galactic Senate to Imperial Senate went quietly and without major incident . Emperor Palpatine did not want to risk tarnishing his public support by making an open grab for power , so he allowed the organization to continue to nominally exist , though it had been gutted of any real functional power . Under advice from Padmé Amidala shortly before her death , Senators Organa and Mon Mothma , along with other Senators from the Delegation of 2000 , did not directly confront Palpatine ' s declaration of a Galactic Empire . Realizing they had already lost , and that further resistance would only be seized upon by Palpatine as justification for dismantling what little remained of the Senate , they determined that their best remaining option was to bide their time in silence . In addition , the newly formed Empire had always intended for the Imperial Senate to simply be a transitional buffer between the Old Republic and the New Order . Although at the time of the Empire ' s formation a majority of senators were loyal to Palpatine , the Imperial Senate was still a prime ( if often clandestine ) source of resistance to Palpatine ' s authority , and despite its changes , came to be known as the " last remnants of the Old Republic . " Certain Senators — many of whom later joined the Rebellion — were known for using the Senate as a platform to voice proposals attempting to moderate Palpatine ' s rule , although always under the guise of perfect loyalty , and some also proceeded to secretly give aid to the Rebel Alliance . However , those senators actions did not go unnoticed by Imperial Intelligence . Prior to its dissolution , the Imperial Senate , under the approval of the Emperor , also issued Intergalactic Passport s to anyone in the galaxy to give them expressed permission to travel through the six primary galaxies . Similarly , the Senate also had access to another version of the Intergalactic Passport that was issued by them directly via the President of the Imperial Senate , although it had some restrictions : Namely , it cannot actually guarantee the owners ' safety when traveling through any portions of Imperial Space that were under the direct control of the Emperor without either the Emperor ' s permission , or barring that , meeting with the commander of the Dantooine Base . Dissolution . In 0 BBY ( 35 : 3 : 5 ) , Palpatine ordered the Imperial Senate to be shut down " for the duration of the emergency , " ostensibly due to the widespread dissemination of the Declaration of Rebellion over the previous months . In truth , the Declaration of Rebellion was merely an excuse to eliminate the Imperial Senate permanently , due to it being a remnant of the Old Republic as well as having Rebel sympathizers among the various senators , and because its role as a transitional buffer had already been expended , with only officers in the Imperial Military being notified of this . As such , it was never revived . To fill the open void in the Imperial government , COMPNOR ' s Select Committee stepped up to the role of overseeing the vast Imperial bureaucracy and the Imperial Ruling Council became the central leadership within the Empire , while the Moffs and Grand Moffs retained direct control over their territories . Eventually the succession of the Imperial legislature was filled by various councils , most composed of Moffs : the Central Committee of Grand Moffs , the Imperial Ruling Council , and finally , the Council of Moffs . According to the Bureau of Operations of Imperial Intelligence , the Rebel Alliance managed to rescue many former Senators who were willing to use their political influence to oppose the Empire . To prevent these politicians from openly supporting the Rebellion , Imperial Intelligence sent teams to attack the Senators ' hideouts . 7 ABY marked the year that the Imperial Senate was succeeded by the New Republic Senate . Powers . Besides the name , the organization differed somewhat from its Republican forebear . Whereas the Galactic Senate had held both legislative and executive power , the Imperial Senate held only legislative power — though most of this power was in the hands of the Emperor , as he was the overall ultimate authority . Despite such , the Imperial Senate still held limited judicial authority , enough to try high ranking officials in the Empire and , possibly , handle cases tied into the Supreme Court . The Emperor allowed the Senate to provide him counsel in enacting new laws . It also had nominal oversight of the Imperial bureaucracy and worked on the Imperial budget . However , the Emperor made it clear that his judgments would be final : Imperial decrees would be issued without debates , court proceedings , or Senatorial overrides . The Emperor could also call and dismiss the Senate at will . The Senate could also pass amendments to the Imperial Charter and apparently had at least nominal oversight of the Imperial Military . It also was able to issue " Intergalactic Passport " s allowing relatively unrestricted access to the known galaxy , although it had tenuous ability to authorize any trips to any portions of the galaxy directly controlled by the Galactic Emperor , resulting in them advising them to get clearance from the Dantooine Base commander before departure , as well as maintaining constant contact with the base . The day - to - day head of the Senate was no longer the Vice Chair , but the Grand Vizier as President of the Senate . The Senate was , at least in theory , responsible for choosing a new Emperor upon the death or abdication of the current holder of the throne . As Palpatine had no intention of ever dying or abdicating , this power was merely a formality . Composition . The Imperial Senate was made up of groups of congressmen : Senators and representatives , representing sectors in the Empire . Some were elected directly , while others were appointed by a planet ' s ruler . Because of " Human High Culture , " most of the alien Senators were replaced by Humans , who ended up representing worlds that were entirely non - human . However , alien senators were not unheard - of , especially in the early days of the Empire . In addition , most power was transferred to the Core Worlds . The reason for the human majority as well as the Core - centric political rule was justified in the official field manual for the Imperial Military with the claim that alien species of the Rim were unpredictable and given to violent outbursts , citing the Republic Senate ' s history as proof . Committees and Subcommittees included : Documents . Documents relating to the Imperial Senate included : Behind the scenes . Palpatine ' s transformation of the Galactic Senate into the Imperial Senate mirrors how the Roman Republic was transformed into the Roman Empire by its first emperor , Augustus . Rather than risk further confrontation with the Roman Republic ' s Senate , Augustus allowed the Senators to continue meeting , but they had been stripped of any real executive power , continuing as little more than an advisory council which he could simply ignore at his leisure . The only difference being that unlike Palpatine , Augustus never dissolved the Senate in his lifetime .