Starfleet Directives
The Starfleet Directives are a set of rules and regulations that govern contact situations with other civilizations.
Prime Directive:
The right for every sentient being to live its own existance, to evolve in its own natural course and to be free from unrequested interference from another civiliazation is sacred. It is therefore forbidden to all spaceships and members of Starfleet to interfere with the normal development of any such culture or society unless they are acting to right an earlier violation or an accidental contamination of said culture. This directive takes precedence over any and all other considerations, and carries with it the highest moral obligation. . This directive is more important than the protection of spaceships or members of Starfleet. Losses are tolerated as long as they are nessesary to observe this directive, everyone and everything is expendable.
Starfleet General Order 2
No Starfleet personnel shall unnecessarily use force, either collectively or individually, against members of the United Federation of Planets, their duly authorized representatives, spokespersons, or designated leaders, or members of any sentient non-member race, for any reason whatsoever.
Starfleet General Order 3
The sovereignty of each Federation member being respected in all things, Starfleet personnel shall observe any and all statutes, laws, ordinances, and rules of governance currently in effect within the jurisdiction of a member planet. Violators of such ordinances will be subject to such punishments or corrections as shall be determined by local governmental bodies.
Starfleet General Order 4
If contact is made with hitherto undiscovered intelligent life-forms, under no circumstance shall Starfleet personnel, either by word or deed, inform said life-forms that worlds other than their own or intelligent life-forms other than their own exist outside the confines of their own space.
Starfleet General Order 5
In cases of extreme emergency, Federation special representatives are empowered to assume emergency powers to deal with a condition or circumstance that is deemed hazardous to the welfare of Federation citizenry. Within the scope of these emergency powers, duly authorized civilian personnel may assume temporary command of Starfleet vessels and/or personnel to deal with the emergency. Starfleet personnel must submit to their authority for the duration of the crisis.
Starfleet General Order 6
The request for emergency assistance from Federation citizenry demands unconditional priority from Starfleet personnel. Such personnel shall immediately respond to said request, postponing all other activities.
Starfleet General Order 7
Under no circumstances, whatever it is, is
any vessel or Officer allowed to visit Talos IV. Violation of this directive is
punishable by death.
Note: This directive has been abrogated.
Note: Breach of this directive carries the only remaining Federation death penalty.
Starfleet General Order 8
Upon sighting a warship within Federation space and identifying it as belonging to a foreign power, the commander of the Starfleet vessel shall determine the reason(s) for that craft's presence in the vicinity. If there is conclusive evidence that the vessel has hostile intentions, the Federation vessel may take appropriate action to safeguard the lives and property of Federation members. In such cases, the commander may use his discretion in deciding whether to use force to disable the hostile vessel. However, care should be taken to avoid unnecessary loss of sentient life. .
Starfleet General Order 9
No commander of a Starfleet vessel, military or auxiliary, may grant political asylum to any individual without first being given express permission to do so by a representative of the Federation government.
Starfleet General Order 10
If there exists eyewitness testimony by senior officers or similar verifiable evidence that an individual has violated the Prime Directive, said individual may be relieved of duty by a duly sworn representative of the Federation government and placed under immediate arrest. The governmental representative shall then take such action as he deems necessary to minimize the results of the violation.
Starfleet General Order 11
Starfleet officers with the rank of captain or higher are granted full authority to negotiate conditions of agreement and/or treaties with legal representatives of non-Federation planets. In such circumstances, the acting officer carries de facto powers of a Federation Special Ambassador. Any and all agreements arranged in this manner are subject to approval by the Chief of Starfleet Operations and the Secretary of Starfleet.
Starfleet General Order 12
Federation officers may violate Neutral Zone areas as designated by treaty only if such action is required to save the lives of Federation citizens under conditions of extreme emergency.
Starfleet General Order 13
Except when orders state to the contrary, Starfleet personnel will respect the territorial integrity of independent planetary systems and governments, and will not violate territorial space belonging to such worlds.
Starfleet General Order 14
Starfleet personnel may intervene in local planetary affairs to restore Order and to secure the lives and property of Federation citizens only upon receiving a direct order to do so from a civilian official with the title of governor or higher.
Starfleet General Order 15
No officer of flag rank shall travel into a potentially hazardous area without suitable armed escort.
Starfleet General Order 16
Starfleet personnel may extend technological, medical, or other scientific assistance to a member of a previously unrecognized sentient species only if such assistance in no way compromises the Prime Directive or the security of the Federation or Starfleet.
Starfleet General Order 17
Starfleet vessel captains are to consider the lives of their crew members as sacred. In any potentially hostile situation, the captain will place the lives of his crew above the fate of his ship.
Starfleet General Order 18
Upon being accused of treason against the Federation, Starfleet personnel may demand a trail conducted by the Federation judiciary. If the individual is acquitted, Starfleet Command shall have no further legal recourse against the accused in said matter
Starfleet General Order 19
Except in times of declared emergency, Starfleet personnel may under no circumstances convey personnel or material between planets or planetary systems when there is reason to believe that said personnel or material may be used to conduct aggression. This order applies to independent worlds within the Federation as well as to Federation members.
Starfleet General Order 20
Officers and personnel of Starfleet Command may employ whatever means necessary to prevent the possession, transportation, sale, or commercial exchange of sentient beings held against their wishes within the boundaries of Federation space.
Starfleet General Order 21
No Starfleet personnel, either officer or enlisted, may offer his services to an independent foreign government without the express authorization of the Federation Assembly.
Starfleet General Order 22
As the rights of individual expression and free discourse are considered sacred, Starfleet personnel may debate the policies and decisions of their governmental representatives privately at any time, to the extent that such discussions do not violate their command oath or specific duties to the Federation per these Orders or Starfleet regulations.
Starfleet General Order 23
When verifiable proof is presented to the senior commanding officer of a Starfleet vessel or post that a Federation representative may currently be acting or have acted in the past to violate the Prime Directive, the officer may relieve said representative of office, then assume the full powers of that office pending a full investigation by governmental officialshe destruction of an intelligent life form is only allowed if this is nessesary to prevent a violation of the Prime directive.
Starfleet General Order 24
If a commanding officer deems that an individual or group of individuals pose a threat to Starfleet personnel or Federation civilians, he may take any action deemed necessary (including force) to secure the safety of those threatened
Starfleet General Order 25
Civilian and military personnel taken into custody by Starfleet personnel during times of extreme emergency shall be accorded proper treatment consistent with their rank or station, insofar as such treatment does not compromise the security of the Federation or Starfleet.