Imperial Senate The Imperial Senate , also referred to as the Galactic Senate or the council was the " de jure " legislature of the First Galactic Empire . It was the continuation of the Galactic Senate of the Republic , which was reformed into an autocratic regime when Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine declared himself Emperor . The Imperial Senate was disbanded after the capture of Prince ss Leia Organa of Alderaan nineteen years after the formation of the Empire . With Leia being a senator who supported the growing Rebellion against Palpatine ' s absolute rule , the Emperor used the incident to cast doubt unto the loyalty of the assembly . As such , the Senate was dissolved , with its former prerogatives handed down to the regional governor s and the military . History . Oversight of the Empire . After the end of the Clone Wars — which he had carefully masterminded — the Sith Lord known as Darth Sidious abandoned his public persona of Palpatine , the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and chairman of its senate . He ordered a special session of Congress and proclaimed himself Galactic Emperor , turning the old Republic into a New Order in his image . The representatives overwhelmingly supported the announcement , except for a few delegates , including Padmé Amidala and Bail Organa . In the wake of the regime change , the Galactic Senate became the Imperial Senate , and the Senate Plaza the Imperial Plaza . Additionally , architectural and design changes would remove any trace of the former Republic , and a giant statue of the Emperor would be erected outside the Senate Rotunda . Making good on his vows to end corruption in the Senate , many citizenry believed that the Emperor was indeed restoring stability to the galaxy . Concurrently , many of Palpatine ' s political opponents suddenly began to vanish . Implied threats and a near - complete lack of trust would permeate among worlds , while the actual enactment of legislation would become an uncommon occurrence . By its fourteenth year of existence , the new Senate started growing even weaker as the Emperor ' s planet ary governors assumed more responsibility over their territories . By 3 BBY , only forty planets bothered sending representatives to the Apprentice Legislature program — which began under the Galactic Republic and continued in the Imperial Senate . Its decline in activity was parallel to the Senate ' s decline in actual power . Ultimately , the Emperor preserved the Senate in order to make the Empire ' s member worlds believe that they still had a part to play in the government . Secretly , the Emperor planned to disband the Senate since the formation of the Empire in the proclamation of the New Order , but needed its body to preserve order until the Death Star was completed , from which he could rule absolute through sheer terror . Some representatives , however , did not realize the extent of the Senate ' s powerlessness . Nadea Tural , senator of Thrad , was still under the impression that she made a difference by voting on important issues . Like many other senators , she assumed that , once the Senate ' s job was done , the result of a vote was passed into law . Little did Tural know that the Emperor did not actually implement the voted changes , leaving the senators to bask in their fruitless pride . After the fall of the planet Lasan , the Senate banned the use of the T - 7 ion disruptor rifle . However , the military ignored the Senate ' s decree and planned for the disruptors to be produced on Lothal . The senate was also misled about the destruction of Jedha City by the Empire , and was told that it was the result of a mining accident . Dissolution . The Imperial Senate remained in place for most of Palpatine ' s rule , constituting one of the last remnants of the old Republic . However , the Rebellion against the Empire kept gaining a growing support in that council . Certain senators , including Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan , did not hesitate to use their diplomatic immunity to help the Rebels . The last straw came in 0 BBY , when Senator Leia Organa attempted to smuggle the stolen plans for the Death Star , a moon - sized battle station that could destroy an entire planet . Organa ' s blockade runner was subsequently captured by Sith Lord Darth Vader , the Emperor ' s apprentice and right - hand man . Fearful of generating more sympathy for the Rebellion in the Senate , Vader ordered to send a false distress signal and then inform the senators that all aboard Organa ' s vessel had been killed . Shortly thereafter , the Emperor disbanded the Imperial Senate , passing direct control down to regional governors and the military . Nadea Tural and a dozen other Rebel sympathizers in the Senate were arrested for their views and imprisoned in the Arrth - Eno Prison Complex on Coruscant . The Alliance made an attempt to both rescue those senators and assassinate the Emperor . Their plans , however , were thwarted , and all captive senators died . Legacy . After the Empire was defeated at the Battle of Endor , the Rebel Alliance reorganized into the New Republic and restored the Imperial Senate as the Galactic Senate based on the Old Republic Senate , on the planet Chandrila . Led by the ideals of unity , accountability , and legality , the Senate strove to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past , and attempted to curb the powers of the Chancellor to avoid creating another Emperor . Nonetheless , following the retirement of Mon Mothma , the Senate would split into two factions , the Centrists and the Populists , a political divide that would threaten to undermine the New Republic ' s egalitarian philosophy , all while an Imperial successor regime grew on the fringes of the galaxy . Powers . In basic theory , the Imperial Senate held legislative powers . Although the senators regularly voted issues in the name of the people they represented , only the Emperor had the power to actually pass those votes into law — which he usually did not . However , the Senate had to applaud the Emperor ' s every decree . Although Palpatine rarely appeared at proceedings , very few senators dared to demand answers in the Senate chamber , lest they be reprimanded , or even silenced . While senators enjoyed diplomat ic immunity , they did not have the right to contest an execution order given by a military commander , especially in matters relating to treason .