Council of the United Federation of Planets

=Council Of The United Federation Of Planets= The Council of the United Federation of Planets, more commonly known as the Federation Council or the Federation Ground Council, is the legislature of the Federation Government. A unicameral body, the Council is comprised of one Federation Councilor from every Federation Member State. The Council convenes in the Federation Council Chambers on Floor One of the Palais De La Concorde in Paris, Earth.

Organization
In accordance with the Articles of the Federation, sessions of the full Council of the United Federation of Planets were presided over by the President of the United Federation of Planets (barring special circumstances, such as the President being off-planet), who stand at a podium near the north wall while the councilors sit in seats arranged in rising rows of twenty. The podium determines who can speak to the Council for the record, and recognized speakers can only address the Council from the speaker's floor, located in the center of the room between two sets of seats for the councilors. Councilors have computer terminals at their work stations that they can use to silently contact one-another or those outside the chambers, and lights on each terminal to indicate a desire to address the Council. No one can speak who had not been recognized by the podium.

The Federation Council conducted its business during sessions that convene once every six months, with three-week intervals. According to the Articles of the Federation, all Federation Councilors have to be present at the beginning of a session in order to participate in future meetings of the Council; those who were not present have to wait until the next session convened in six months.

The Council conducts much of its business by dividing itself into numerous sub-councils with jurisdiction over specific areas of import to the Federation; the Security Council, for instance, has jurisdiction over areas of Federation security. Membership in sub-councils is determined by the President, who nominated a councilor for a sub-council who is then confirmed by the full Council. Some of the sub-councils, such as the Security and Judiciary Councils, are permanent, while others are created on an as-needed basis; the councilors from the five founding Member States are automatically appointed to the permanent sub-councils. During sub-council sessions, members of the sub-council can speak without having to be recognized by the sub-council chair; sub-council sessions are usually presided over by the chair of the sub-council rather than the President, though the President retains that option. The President is generally expected to solicit the active participation of the appropriate sub-council in determining executive policies; as such, there is far less separation of powers between the Council and the Presidency than in many traditional Earth governments.

Elevation to the Federation Council is determined by each Member State. The Republic Of Bajor, for instance, determines its Federation Councilor by having him or her nominated by the First Minister and then confirmed by the Chamber of Ministers. The Andorian Empire's councilor is determined by which political party holds the majority of seats in the Parliament Andoria, while Betazed's councilor is popularly elected. Membership in the Council is of course a great honor, and as of 2266, only T'Pau of Vulcan had ever refused a seat.

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