General
Orders to the Starfleet
These the general instructions for Starfleet Command. Recommended
by the Secretary of Starfleet and established through executive
order by the Federation Council, these general orders pertain to
all Starfleet personnel. They specify the extent to which the Federation
Council and the Supreme Assembly maintain control over the military.
Conversely, they also represent to what extent Starfleet Command
is capable of influencing Federation policy.
There are currently 29 General Orders for the proper conduct of
Starfleet operations. The first six are the original orders that
were established upon the founding of the United Federation of Planets.
General Order 1
The Prime Directive
As the right of each sentient being to live in accordance with
its normal cultural evolution is considered sacred, no Starfleet
personnel may interfere with the normal and healthy development
of alien life and culture. Such interference includes introducing
superior knowledge, strength, or technology to a world whose society
is incapable of handling such advantages wisely. Starfleet personnel
may not violate this Prime Directive, even to save their lives and/or
their ships, 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.
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.
General Order 3
The sovereignty of each Federation members 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.
General Order 4
If contact is made with hitherto undiscovered intelligent lifeforms,
under no circumstances shall Starfleet personnel, either by word
or deed, inform said lifeforms that worlds other than their own
exists outside the confines of their own space.
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.
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.
General Order 7
No Starfleet vessel shall visit the planet Talos IV under any circumstances,
emergency or otherwise. This order supersedes General Order 6. Any
transgression of this general order shall be punishable by death.
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
a hostile intention, 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.
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.
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.
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 factor powers of a Federation special
ambassador. Any and all agreements arranged in this manner are subject
to approval by the Commander in Chief of Starfleet Command and the
Secretary of Starfleet.
General Order 12
When encountering another vessel in space where visual communications
have not been established, the commander of the Star Fleet vessel
will keep the uncommunicative ship out of weapons range.
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.
General Order 14
Starfleet personnel may intervene in local planetary affairs to
restore general 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.
General Order 15
No officer of flag rank may travel into a potentially hazardous
area without suitable armed escort.
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 of the security of the Federation or 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.
General Order 18
Upon being accused of treason against the Federation, Starfleet
personnel may demand a trial conducted by the Federation judiciary.
If the individual is acquitted, Starfleet Command shall have no
further legal recourse against the accused in said manner.
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.
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 being held against their
wishes within the boundaries of Federation space.
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 United Federation of Planets.
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 General Orders or
Starfleet regulations.
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 has 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 government officials.
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 the use of force)
to secure the safety of those threatened.
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 rank or station, insofar as such treatment
does not compromise the security of the Federation or Starfleet.
General Order 26
No member of a ship's complement or other ground-based installation
can be held directly accountable for the actions of their superiors.
Similarly, no member of a ship's company or other Starfleet personnel
will share in disciplinary measures taken against the commanding
officer(s) if said individuals were not directly involved in the
actions leading to disciplinary measures. This order extends to
conditions involving proven violations of the Prime Directive, where
proof of such violations exist.
General Order 27
No member of Starfleet shall be required by the assignment of standard
duties and responsibilities to undergo extended separation from
his family if family members can be reasonably provided for aboard
ship or as a part of an existing Starfleet installation.
General Order 28
No officer of command rank shall be removed from command status
unless such action has the complete and unqualified agreement of
at least three senior officers present. Whenever possible, such
officers shall include the ship's First Officer, Chief Medical Officer,
Counselor, and one junior officer of command station.
General Order 29
The primary responsibility of the commander of any Starfleet vessel
or installation is the welfare and safety of his crew, including
any civilian members. No action may be taken that creates an unwarranted
threat to the safety of those individuals under the officer's charge,
except in the line of duty and when otherwise unavoidable.
