Klingon High Council The High Council ( also referred to as the Imperial Command or High Command ) was the legislature and ruling body of the Klingon Empire . Located in the Klingon capital of Qo ' noS , the First City , the High Council was comprised of some two dozen representatives of the most powerful houses and headed by a council chancellor . The members of the Council were charged with overseeing the welfare of the Klingon Empire and its citizens , with each member usually heading a major department . When the Council was summoned to determine policies , the input from each department head was used . They met in the Great Hall . Women generally could not serve on the Council , though there were exceptions . ( ; ; ) The Council had a long history of political intrigue , as the Great Houses battled for control over the Empire . Assassinations , duels , and hostilities were common during power struggles . When the Council chancellor was deposed , either through assassination or other means , a Rite of Succession was performed to instate the new chancellor . As with all Klingon occasions , a dose of honor able battle was inevitable , after which the two remaining contenders were to fight it out for the coveted position . History . In the latter half of the 23rd century , Field Commander Korrd had a tenuous relationship with the Klingon High Command after the Feira Incident . In 2256 , each of the twenty - four Klingon Great House s held a seat on the council . ( ) In 2366 , the High Council under Chancellor K ' mpec was informed that a captured Romulan ship had evidence of a Klingon traitor at the Khitomer Massacre twenty years ago . The Council recognized the personal security code as that of Ja ' rod of the House of Duras . The Council , worried that public knowledge of this might have plunged the Empire into civil war , decided to falsify the logs to indicate Mogh instead . Mogh ' s son Worf challenged the Council ' s decision but ultimately accepted discommendation as he learned the truth to protect the Empire ' s stability . ( ) In 2371 , Gowron and the High Council sent the Intelligence operatives Morka , Bo ' rak , and Atul to Deep Space 9 to spy on a Romulan delegation . ( ) After Worf opposed the invasion of the Cardassian Union , Gowron had Kurn expelled from the High Council . ( ) In 2373 , the High Council decided to provide the Maquis with cloaking device s to help them fight the Cardassian s . ( ) Later that year , the Council gave General Martok a mission to find the , which had disappeared near the Cardassian border . They also told him not to not enter Cardassian space . However , the was required to do so , when the " B ' Moth " was discovered to have drifted over the border . The Council did not reprimand Martok for crossing the border , as they viewed the rescue of thirty - five Klingons and the destruction of a Jem ' Hadar fighter as justification for doing so . ( ) In the early month s of the Dominion War , the High Council assigned the " Rotarran " to escort a convoy to Donatu V . It was the only starship they could spare . ( ) In 2375 , Martok often had to send reports to the Council , something which irked him greatly . ( ) Later that year , Martok expressed doubts that the Council would accept him as chancellor , as he was a common man from the Ketha lowlands , in Ketha Province . Worf believed that Martok ' s reverence by the troops would force the Council to accept him . Worf later challenged Gowron , calling him unfit to lead the council . ( ) " In an alternate timeline in which Captain Benjamin Sisko suffered temporal displacement , Worf was able to persuade the High Council to let the enter the Klingon - controlled Bajoran system to attempt a rescue . " ( ) Background information . The term " Klingon High Command " is mentioned in , , , , , and . The term also appeared in a deleted line from . The notion of a Klingon High Council was established in a Klingon - centric memo which Ronald D . Moore wrote to Michael Piller at the outset of working on " Sins of the Father " . This memo stated , " " A High Council is the ultimate authority in all matters of Klingon life [ . . . ] The High Council is formed of leaders of each family of importance in the Empire . " " ( " Sins of the Father " audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu - ray ) In , K ' Ehleyr is offered a seat on the High Council ; yet , in and subsequent episodes , it is said that women may not serve on the Council . Concerning the place of women , Ron Moore commented , " " I co - wrote both ' Reunion ' ( in which K ' Ehleyr was offered the Council seat ) and ' The House of Quark ' ( in which Grilka was told she could not serve on the Council because she ' s a woman ) . The reason for the change was : a ) to service a plot element in ' House of Quark ' ; and b ) to differentiate the Klingons from the UFP and the Romulans . The idea was that the Klingons were a traditionally patriarchal society and that while many elements of that have disappeared over the years , the Council itself was still the province of male warriors . This is not an endorsement of that idea , but rather an attempt to make them " different " than us . For example , their government is not a democracy , but rather an oligarchy ruled by powerful Houses , with an Emperor as head of state and we certainly aren ' t promoting that either ! " "