Charter of the United Federation of Planets The Charter of the United Federation of Planets ( or Federation Charter for short ) was the document that was ratified by the original members of the United Federation of Planets at its founding in 2161 . Jonathan Archer was one of the signers of the charter . ( ; ) In 2372 , Benjamin Sisko pointed out to Akorem Laan that if Akorem , as Emissary of the Prophets , guided the people of Bajor towards using the " D ' jarra " caste system , it would prevent them from joining the Federation , as " caste - based discrimination goes against the Federation Charter . " ( ) After discovering Luther Sloan ' s plan to interfere with the selection of a new member to the Romulan Continuing Committee , Julian Bashir pointed out that the Federation Charter explicitly forbade interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state . ( ) While trapped in in 2377 , captain Kathryn Janeway used the Federation Charter as an example to form the basis of a multi - species alliance to help many other trapped ships escape the Void . She described it as being a statement of principles , rather than a practical document . ( ) Excerpt . One excerpt from the Charter : Appendices . Background information . The above text is a rewording of the United Nations charter , altered via the use of more expansive and inclusive words in place of Human - and Earth - centric terms . A comment Deanna Troi voices in , in which she wishes she could inform those viewing the founding ceremony that the alliance being formed would " give birth to the Federation , " would seem to suggest that the ceremony was not the signing of the Federation Charter , but the charter for an earlier interspecies alliance such as the Coalition of Planets . However , this could be seen to contradict a comment stated by in , in which he specifically said the ceremony had Archer and the other planet ary representatives signing the Federation Charter . It is possible that Troi ' s comment meant either the alliance would grow from merely an alliance to a political body , or that Daniels referred to a different ceremony . Alternatively , Troi ' s remark may simply be referring to the contemporary , 24th century Federation , which is a far larger , more developed galactic union than the one being born and depicted here . From this point of view , Troi is fascinated by the fact that such a relatively small alliance grows into the Federation she knows . A clipping in Captain Picard ' s photo album ( seen in ) suggests the Federation Charter was signed on October 11 , 2161 . This , however , is not considered canon , as the clipping was not visible on - screen . The relationship between the Constitution of the United Federation of Planets and the Charter of the United Federation of Planets is unclear . Both contain rights for individuals , as Sisko put it in , when he remarked , " " Caste - based discrimination goes against the Federation Charter . " " It is most likely that the Charter describes the requirements for entry of a planet into the Federation ( e . g . , no entry if caste - based discrimination is in place ) , while the Constitution describes the principles , governing structure , and citizen rights once becoming a member ( e . g . , rights against self - incrimination ) . The " Star Fleet Technical Manual " features the " Articles of Federation " , a Federation charter . Just as was the case for " The Void " , Franz Joseph revised the UN Charter text . His phrasings and word choice were , however , significantly different from the later canonical accounts .