Imperial Political Hierarchy

The **Imperial Political Hierarchy** is the hierarchical system of imperial departments, ministries, bureaus, and agencies who reported up the chain of government command towards the Emperor at the top of the system. Below the Emperor were three departments under the authority of the Grand Chancellor. These were the Central Committee, the Imperial Senate, and the Chancellery. The Deliberative Council of Princes and High Ministers, which was not an official organ of the state apparatus, was the body that met with the Emperor, including the Central Committee, to discuss all issues of the State. Outside of the Grand Chancellors purview was the only bureau that directly reported to the Emperor himself, the Censorate.

Below these various bodies were agencies, committees, and offices which formed a vast and bloated bureaucracy, with some offices which officially remained now having become long since obsolete, carrying out duties which even the state had forgotten about.

## Government Hierarchy

* The Grand Chancellor: Officially the most senior position within the Empire. He oversees the Central Committee and Imperial Ministres, and is the individual to convene sessions of the Senate. During his absence, the Senior Deputy Chancellor and the Junior Deputy Chancellor may take his place at the Central Committee meetings and Senate meetings respectively. He is assisted by the Chancellery.
	+ The Central Committee: This is composed of the heads of the Imperial Ministries. Each one is given the position of Great Secretary. Their duties generally involved acting as specialised advisory bodies, whilst the ministries under them implemented the laws pertaining to their area of speciality. They frequently worked alongside the Senate. Generally, below each ministry were Bureaus headed by a Director-General.
		- Ministry of Revenues: Responsible for the collection of taxation and assessing rates of taxation. It also advises on the distribution of government revenues within its budget.
			* The Imperial Bank: Whilst it is not a public service bank, it is the central bank for the Empire. Its duties largely involve monetary policy, official inflation calculations, and maintaining the government fund account, acting as the government banker.
			* Bureau for Imperial Balance: The department for providing Imperial Household finances. This does not involve
			* Bureau for the Treasury: Implements public finance policy through public bodies expenditure.
			* Bureau for Taxation: The department for managing, administering, and collecting taxes.
		- Ministry of Justice: Advises on the drafting of criminal justice policy. Oversees the management of prosecuted criminals, the appointment of judges, the administration of all courts, the registration of land ownership, criminal investigations, regulation of coroners and policing.
			* Bureau for Punitive Corrections: Management of prisons and their financing. It also carries out all capital and corporal punishments.
			* Bureau for Security: Management of policing efforts and other regulators of law enforcement and security. This includes Palace security.
			* Bureau for Registers: Management of all legal documents pertaining to land registry and deeds.
			* Bureau for Imperial Courts and Tribunals: Management of courts within the Empire, and oversight of their judges. This includes criminal and civil courts.
		- Ministry of War: Advises on appointments of high ranking officers, whilst also managing the appointments and commissions of all officers across the Imperial Army and Navy. It also maintains all military installations, equipment, weaponry, etc.
			* Bureau for the Navy: Management of naval promotions, defence, and strategy.
			* Bureau for the Army: Management of army promotions, defence, and strategy.
			* Bureau for Procurement: Worked alongside Senate Committees for the purchase of contracts, as well as issuing forcible acquisitions of necessary ships and arms in areas of emergency.
			* Bureau for Information: Worked to collect information on hostile groups, as well as disseminate what information the State deemed appropriate.
		- Ministry of Rites: Manages the logistics and appointments for state ceremonies, rituals, offerings, and sacrifices. It oversaw the appointments of priests and religious clerks, and maintenance of ancestral tombs, altars, and temples.
			* Table of Great Temple Masters: The most senior priests of the Imperial faith, who command the greatest Temples to the chief Gods on Rocan.
			* Court of the Imperial Dynasty: Responsible for all issues of the Imperial Clan. It independently maintained records imperial births and deaths, and was the body who tried Imperial Family members, beyond the official judicial system.
			* Chamber of Astronomical Observations: Charts the observations of the stars and other celestial objects, as well as recording natural phenomena in order to interpret the divine.
			* Chamber of Offerings: This oversees the offerings and rituals carried out by the court, and the maintenance of the altars and tombs.
			* Chamber of Sacrificial Worship: Conducts major court sacrificial ceremonies according to ritual regulations.
			* Chamber of Imperial Banquets: Caters to the Imperial Household, officials, and state banquets.
		- Ministry of Works: One of the largest departments, this was responsible for all the public works of the Empire, as well as the expansion of the Empire, resource management and extraction from Imperial land, and government trade routes mapping.
			* Bureau for Public Works: Has oversight of all public works that are carried out by the government, usually major infrastructure developments such as transit, housing, waste management, government offices, hospitals, academies, etc.
			* Bureau for Expansion: Manages all efforts to expand the Empire, including survey of new worlds, systems, and categorising them. It may then shortlist these for development and allocation to nobility or for addition to the Imperial Estate.
			* Bureau for Agriculture: Regulates agricultural policy, food production, environmental management, and similar areas.
			* Bureau for Imperial Estate: This manages the land directly owned by the Emperor and the Imperial Family according to their wishes.
			* Bureau for Resource Management: Has oversight over energy resources, building resources, etc.
			* Bureau for Stellar Charts: Charts the stellar movements for navigational purposes for all ships so that movement can continue unimpeded. Considered one of the most vital bureaus for the sole reason that without it, the Empire would be unable to remain connected.
			* Bureau for Reclamation: Oversees the works carried out to reclaim abandoned areas, worlds that have been sterilised by Imperial command, and similar situations.
			* Bureau for Scientific Advancement: The department for allocating research budgets, as well as advising the government on scientific advancements to achieve goals.
			* Bureau for Energy: Manages energy production through various means, and the allocation of energy use.
			* Bureau for Ships and Services: The civil sister agency to the Bureau of Procurement.
			* Bureau for Palace Buildings: Responsible solely for funding palace construction and temple works.
		- Ministry of Personnel: One of the largest departments with that of Works, this is responsible for appointments and demotions of officials, the administration of honorifics and titles, the collection of the Imperial census, education, culture and entertainment, and health services.
			* Bureau for Imperial Statistics: Manages all records and official statistics for use in government policy. It is the executive statistics authority for the Empire as a whole, though its highest sub-department maintains the records of Rocan alone.
			* Bureau for Culture: Largely concerned with the promotion of fine arts throughout the civilised areas of the Empire. It maintains museums, theatres, parks, etc.
			* Bureau for Imperial Academies: Oversees the universities and academies used for the education of imperial subjects and civil service examination boards.
			* Bureau for Civil Service: This department reviews and appoints all personnel under the ministries. It is split between appointments for noble offices, and common offices.
			* Bureau for Public Health: Overview of hospital and care staff, and updating epidemic response management.
			* Bureau for Appointments: Advises on and carries out all promotions within government agencies. It also manages and records title allocations.
			* Bureau for Species Identification: Compiles data for all species, logging sentience and non-sentience.
			* Bureau for Palace Domestics: Arrangement of the class of commoner servants within the Imperial Palaces.
	+ The Senate: This is composed of a Senator of each star system. Since not all star systems are ruled by one individual, the Senators are not always the same as the Lord of that system. Rather, they are often picked from amongst the great families within the star system by the Chancellery. The Senate is responsible for proposing Imperial Decrees, reviewing the works of the Central Committee, and for managing day to day governance of the Empire. The Senate is organised into numerous Committees, each headed by a Chairperson. A few are listed below.
		- Speaker of the Senate: Ensures that the rules of Senate meetings are adhered to, and recognises the right of those present to speak.
		- Finance Committee: Reviews financial actions of the Ministry of Revenues and all of its dependent bureaus and departments.
			* Financial Appropriations Committee: Regulates allocations of government grants and charitable expenditure.
			* Budgetary Committee: Scrutinises government taxation and revenue streams.
			* Emergency Appropriations Committee: Can authorise a portion of the budget to relief funds in the event of an emergency. They also have the authority to compel nobility of affected areas to provide assistance.
		- Judiciary Committee: Scrutinises the budget, the administration, and the policy of the Ministry of Justice. It also oversees Imperial Prosecutors who may bring charges against individuals.
			* Imperial Activities Committee: Regulates government officials with the intention of ensuring that they do not subvert Imperial authority.
			* Criminal Appeals Committee: Scrutinises submitted appeals to criminal conviction. If accepted, the appeal will be heard in an Appellate Court.
			* Penal Oversight Committee: Scrutinises the budget of the Imperial Prison Boards, usually with a view to reduce costs of caring for prisoners.
		- Military Oversight Committee: Scrutinises the budget and administration of the Ministry of War. In addition, it collected data from the outcomes of battles and wars to determine improvements that could be made.
			* Military Expenditure Committee: Scrutinises the budget of the Ministry of War, in particular, the cost effectiveness of new imperial weaponry, vehicles, and ships.
			* Naval Committee: Responsible for contracting manufacturing corporations.
			* Military Propaganda Committee: Responsible for recruitment of personnel and recruitment campaigns.
		- Resource Management Committee: Regulates resource extraction and management within Imperial borders, to ensure the efficiency of the Ministry of Works.
			* Construction Transportation Committee: Regulates the logistical movements of resources between words, supplying construction materials where they are needed most.
			* Dispensations Committee: Regulates the issuance of contracts and grants to individuals. This includes shipping licenses, loaning imperial ships, etc.
			* Mining Committee: Regulates mining grants to corporations for newly discovered ore deposits.
		- Trade Committee: Regulates trade and commerce between worlds and facilitates internal markets. It also mediates trade disputes.
		- Public Health Committee: Scrutinises the works of hospitals and other care facilities maintained by the government, as well as protocols and responses to health crises.
		- Scientific Research Committee: Scrutinises the activities of research bodies, their effectiveness, and makes recommendations to the Bureau of Scientific Advancement.
			* Military Research Committee: Responsible for oversight of research directed towards military application.
			* Bioengineering Committee: Responsible for oversight of research directed towards genetic alterations.
		- Educational Committee: Scrutinises the work of the Bureau for Imperial Academies, important institutions for the nobility and civil servants.
			* Educational Reform Committee: Responsible for drafting reform proposals to those academies and universities that were regarded as lower level institutions, and particularly interested in checking imperial doctrinal adherence in education.
			* Educational Standards Committee: Responsible for ranking academies and universities according to their academic outcomes.
	+ The Chancellery: One of the smallest organs of the Imperial State, its duty is chiefly to assist the Grand Chancellor in his duties. This included the Senior and Junior Deputy Chancellors, the Senior and Junior Assistant Clerks, and the numerous lower advisers and attendants. Their duty included advising the Emperor directly on edicts, and reviewing drafted documents on the behalf of the Emperor and Chancellor. For this purpose, the Keeper of the Imperial Seal of the Realm.
* The Imperial Censorate: Controlled by the Director-General for the Censorate, it ultimately is responsible for censoring materials that may be considered anti-Imperial, as well as for monitoring all individuals within the government and court, and further afield. Whilst the Imperial Activities Committee on the Senate conducted similar checks, the Censorate was considered the eyes and ears of the Emperor. The Director-General reported directly to the Emperor, and was outwith the Grand Chancellors purview.
	+ In-Palace Censors: These monitored the palaces of the Emperor. Generally, they only monitored public spaces, and were not authorised to check individual apartments without reason, unless such an action was authorised by the Emperor.
	+ Monitor Censors: These were appointed to, and moved around within, local administrations all across the Empire. They generally did not stay in one place too long, and were to report any potential treason.