Dissolution of the Imperial Senate / Legends The dissolution of the Imperial Senate was the suspension of the Imperial Senate by direct order of Emperor Palpatine in 0 BBY ( 35 : 3 : 5 GrS ) . Background . From the beginning of the Galactic Empire , Palpatine sought to remove the Senate . The first reason was symbolic : he could not leave a reminder of the Galactic Republic . Despite the Imperial Senate being very different from the Galactic Senate , it came to be known as the " last remnant of the Old Republic . " The second was political : some senators still opposed him . His obedient majority tried keeping them in check ; they understood they were only there to prop up the illusion of democracy . Some , however , didn ' t understand the sham ; they actually tried passing laws against the Emperor ' s wishes . He dealt with the outspoken ones when they appeared , but like weeds , others sprouted in their place . Some of them , as Palpatine suspected , were providing the Rebels with funds , information , and resources . In addition , the Imperial Military via its explained that the Imperial Senate was only intended to serve as a transitional piece between the Old Republic and the New Order , and claimed its removal would ensure that the Imperial Military would do its duties much more efficiently . Dissolution . In 0 BBY , after learning that Senator Leia Organa of the Alderaan Sector was a member of the Rebel Alliance , the Emperor issued the dissolution of the Senate , via the Grand Convocation Chamber of the Senate Building on Coruscant . He claimed that the Rebellion had penetrated the highest organs of the Imperial Government and used the Declaration of Rebellion as his proof from two years earlier . The Senate ' s dissolution would be temporary until the Rebellion was put down . Until that time , Moffs and Regional Governors would have total control of their systems and sectors . Warrants were issued for the arrest of all suspected Rebels . Stormtroopers burst into the Senate , and hundreds were detained . Some — those learned to have had Rebel affiliations — were never seen again . The following morning , the remaining senators , unaware of what had happened , came to work only to find themselves locked out of their offices and chambers . Some tried to appeal to Palpatine directly , but were told that their diplomatic access to the Imperial Palace had been suspended " for the duration of the emergency . " Many who were released left Coruscant for their homeworlds , and a peaceful — and isolated — retirement . The small number of senators that remained , the ones who had most voraciously upheld the party line , were generously rewarded with their lives and new positions . Many of them donned ornate jeweled robes and joined the swelling ranks of Imperial advisors . Aftermath . Though it was claimed via the public communications that the dissolution was temporary , only the most deluded of people actually believed the Emperor ' s statement . A new pyramidal structure was imposed , with himself at its summit , then the Grand Moffs who ruled Oversectors , then the Moffs who ruled sectors , then the governors of individual systems . All of them owed their careers to the Emperor and gave him their allegiance . The dissolution of the Imperial Senate also gave one of the Grand Moffs , Wilhuff Tarkin , the opportunity to test the Death Star without fear of reprisal , and informed Tagge as much when he expressed fear that the Imperial Senate would react with anger if they found out about the Death Star ' s development . The " " , the official field manual for officers in the Imperial Military , also made clear that the Imperial Senate ' s dissolution was in fact planned from the start , and that the Emperor ' s decision was made final . The end of the Senate left the field wide open for COMPNOR to step in . For all the power of the Moffs , COMPNOR stood behind them , more powerful still . In the absence of the Senate , Palpatine had established an environment where even his subordinates were capable of terrible atrocities against sentient beings . Behind them all was the Death Star , a weapon that was used to incite fear and terrorize those unfaithful to the New Order . Organizations such as the Trade Federation that had been puppet governments to the Empire since the Clone Wars had ended were dissolved along with the Imperial Senate . This event had ultimately not only resulted in the disbandment of the Senate , but also the Alliance officially becoming a separate galactic government from the Empire .