Local Government of Barrayar

The local government bodies of the Imperium of Barrayar are a set of bodies, rules, models and traditions which vary widely across the Empire, according to tradition, organic evolution and different ways of establishment. However, despite this, there is a common model where the Imperial Authority has not any pre-existing limit, that is to say in the Southern Continent as well as on Sergyar. In other places, i.e. Northern Continent and Komarr, the Imperial Authority is variously modulated, according needs and traditions.

Barrayar

The planet of Barrayar for purposes of administration consists of 124 Districts, 280 Regions and a number of municipalities. All these subdivisions, alongside with central government, constitute the planetary government.
The subdivisions of the imperial state is administrative in nature: the political power is held by the central government and by the whole Empire. Municipalities, Regions and Districts are a sequence of levels of government, according to a hierarchical system.
The planetary administrative system of Barrayar, is divided into the following levels:

• 124 Districts, of whom
  • 60 Northern Districts, each ruled by a District Count with a different subdivision
  • 64 Southern Districts, which are subdivided into 280 Regions
    • Regions are in turn divided into 36,569 municipalities
• 3 Special Urban Communities (Vorbarr Sultana, Black Reach City, Neurussland)

The planet of Barrayar is composed of two major continents. The Northern Continent is subdivided into 60 Districts, each ruled by a Count, who sits in the Council of Counts. Southern Continent is formally a personal property of the Emperor: although it is also divided into 64 Districts, its system and legal status is quite different.
Apart of the rest, there are orbital installations, as well as minerary installations or scientific facilities.

Northern Continent

In Northern Continent, a District is an area of the Empire of Barrayar that shares sovereignty with the Imperium central government. Since the reign of Dorca Vorbarra, there are sixty Northern Districts. A Barrayaran subject is a citizen of both the imperial entity and of his District of domicile. District domicile and residence is flexible and few government approvals are required to move between Districts.
The Barrayaran legal system allocates certain powers to the central government and places some limitations on the District governments. The tasks of public security, public education, public health, transportation, and infrastructure are primarily district responsibilities, although some of these have significant imperial funding and regulation as well.
The District Count is the sole and ultimate ruler of his District. Each Count runs his District on his own, and Districts' organisation and operations are not the same across the continent, although some common models can be found, such as the granting of charters to major cities. Local Count's Justice is also run by and for the District Count, who exercises it either by Count's Voices and by Count's Courts.

Extra-planetary settlements, installations and facilities

Within the Barrayaran boundary there are several orbital bases and stations, as well as installations of variying nature and origin, built on the two moons, on uninhabited planets or established in the void. Among these space stations there are the civilian jumpstations at the ends of the wormholes towards Komarr. Each of them has its own administration structure.

Lagrangian Stations

Barrayar has two moons. This determines the presence of several Lagrangian points, which are used to house several void objects, especially of military/surveillance use.
The Lagrangian points are the five positions in an orbital configuration where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be part of a constant-shape pattern with two larger objects. In contrast to the collinear Lagrangian points, the triangular points (LSBP4 and LSBP5, i.e. Sun-Barrayaran Lagrangian Barrayaran Point 4 and 5) are stable equilibria. When a body at these points is perturbed, it moves away from the point, but the factor opposite of that which is increased or decreased by the perturbation (either gravity or angular momentum-induced speed) will also increase or decrease, bending the object's path into a stable, kidney-bean-shaped orbit around the point. In the Barrayaran-Moons cases, the problem of stability is greatly complicated by the appreciable sun gravitational influence.
Lagrangian Stations is the collective name for the two massive space stations built on the LSBP4 and LSBP5 equilibrium points in the orbit of the Barrayaran star-planet system. While there are several other planetary bodies within the star system of Barrayar, none of them has inhabited Lagrangian points.
The Xav Vorbarra Station (LSBP4) and the Ezar Vorbarra Station (LSBP5) were conceived, proposed and built between late 2970s and early 2980s. They house, respectively, 152,500 and 185,000 inhabitants, mostly but not only immigrants and high-technology industries workers. They also house military-related civilian activities for the near His Majesty's Space Stations. As space stations, both settlements practice rigorous sanitary screening.

Administration

The administration of the two Lagrangian stations, due to the important stakes hold by the military complex, is entrusted to the Intermininisterial Regulatory Committee for Administration and Management of Lagrangian Stations. The committee consists of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of the West, and it is the ultimate administrative body for what concerns the ordinary governance.
Below the Intermininisterial Committee in each Station there is the Station Governor, appointed by the Emperor on non-binding suggestion of the Intermininisterial Committee; however, no civilian has been appointed until the present date (3003 A.D.). The Station Governor has large regulatory and management powers, his functions being constrained only by the settlement nature and features: he directs the rescue and police activities, although he is not the local commander of such bodies, enacts ordinances and regulations, presides over the local Barrayaran courts and chairs the Station Commission for the Order and Security. Real day-to-day powers, however, are those of administrative police, focusing mostly on biocontrol, health, prevention, environmental and quarantine policies.
The Governor is assisted by a complex of offices, bureaus and other bureaucratic bodies, and by the Consultive Board, composed of representatives of industries and of inhabitants. In turn, industries delegations are composed of both shareholders and workers representatives, ensuring a degree of corporatism. The Board has mere consultive powers, although can reject a regulation bill (but not ordinance ones), forcing the Governor to submit rejected bill to the Intermininisterial Committee.
Within the Stations there are some autonomous sectors, entirely managed by specific bodies: the Quays, which fall under the exclusive competence of the respective Quays Departments, and the Power Generator, which is managed only by the relevant Engineering and Power Authority.
Security and law enforcement in each Station are ensured by a Security Commission which ensures the co-ordination of activities in a such compartmented space and is composed by the Presidents of Barrayaran Station Criminal and Civil Courts of First Instance, of the Imperial Criminal and Civil Station Courts of First Instance, the Police Senior Councillor in charge of the Imperial Police Force, the Captain of the Imperial Security, the Imperial Loyalty Chief Commissioner in charge for the Special Corps of Gendarmes and the Liaison Captain of the Service Security.

Xav Vorbarra Station

The Xav Vorbarra Station is located on the Lagrangian Point LSBP4, next to the military Serg Vorbarra His Majesty's Space Stations; it serves as a hub for entry space traffic directed to Barrayar and as a industrial centre for experimental and high-technology industries, as well as to space traffic-related service providing, with 152,500 inhabitants. The Xav Vorbarra Station is inhabited by 22,300 foreigners, making it the second most popolous foreign community within the Barrayar star system after Vorbarr Sultana, while the remaining inhabitants are further subdivided: 100,400 Barrayarans and 29,800 Komarrans, although all are subject to the Barrayaran jurisdiction.

Southern Continent

The Southern Continent is divided into 64 administrative Districts, 62 of which are on mainland, and two of which are islands. Each District is further subdivided into Regions, ranging in number from 3 to 5 per District. The Imperial system of local government gives two broad aspects for the various heads of local government bodies: on one hand, they are representatives of their communities and are charged with limited and non-democratic self-government functions; on the other hand, they are representatives of the Empire, of the Imperial Crown, of the Emperor and of the person of Emperor Serg Vorbarra, and therefore are empowered with the duty of exercise the sovereign functions, i.e. mainly collecting Imperial taxes and revenues, ensuring instruction, guaranteering the public order and security and giving execution to all Government policies. While reponsible to the Ministry of the West for general duties, governors and other local government heads are dependent on the Ministry of Interior for public order and security duties.

Imperial Lands Distribution Committee

The Imperial Lands Distribution Committee is a body that oversees the assignment of Southern Continent lots. The Committee, being a body of the Ministry of the West, Department of Colonization Affairs, has a Continent-wide jurisdiction, and consists of several sub-Committees, at both District and Region level. Both the Imperial Committee and sub-layers consist of a Bailiff and four Provosts.
All Bailiffs are appointed by the Emperor, upon proposal of the Minister, while Provosts are appointed directly by the Minister himself.

Southern Districts

The Southern Continent is divided into 64 administrative Districts, 62 of which are on mainland, and two of which are islands. Each District is further subdivided into Regions, ranging in number from 3 to 5 per District.

Southern Districts lack full separate legislative authority and therefore they cannot write their own statutory law. They levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies.
Districts have considerable discretionary power over infrastructural spending, e.g., education, public transit, universities and research, and assistance to business owners. Local services of the State administration are traditionally organised at District level, where the District High Sheriff represents the Government.
The District seat of government is called the Capital City and is generally a city of some importance, roughly at the geographical centre of the district.
Each District is administered by a General Council, an assembly appointed for ten years by the Prime Minister or, in his absence, by the Minister of Interior, with the District High Sheriff, who represents the Government in each District and serve as executive: he often is a retired military officer and is appointed by the Emperor. The District High Sheriff is assisted by one or more Aldermen (which are appointed by the High Sheriff himself) and by Regional Sheriffs.

Public Security

The High Sheriff is the District Authority of Public Security. He has overall responsibility for law and order and public security in the District, oversees the implementation of the directives issued in this regard and ensures unity of direction and coordination.
For these purposes, the High Sheriff must be promptly informed by the Director of Public Security and the District Commander of the Special Corps of Gendarmes, however, have a bearing on how much of your order and public safety in the province. The High Sheriff has the public force at his disposal and directs their activities.

Regions

In the administrative division of Barrayar, the Region is the second of the three levels of government below the national level, between the District and the Municipality. Regions may be further subdivided into mandments and sub-mandments; the latter two have no autonomy and are used only for the organisation of public services.
Regions are administered by an appointed Regional Junta and their Regional Sheriff, whose main areas of responsibility include the management of a number of social and welfare allowances, of junior high school buildings and technical staff, of local roads and school and rural buses, and a contribution to municipal infrastructures. Both Junta and Sheriff are appointed by the Prime Minister or, in his absence, by the Minister of Interior; however, there is also an indirectly elected Regional Council, which is charged to pass the most important regulation bills.

Arrondissements and Municipalities

The Regions are further divided into Arrondissiments and Autonomous Municipalities, governed according to two different systems.
While the municipality is the lowest level of administrative division in the Southern Continent, this system applies to urban centres of a certain size. Each of the municipalities possesses a Municipal Commissioner and a Municipal Council who jointly manage the municipality from the city hall, with exactly the same powers, no matter the size of the municipality. Municipal Commissioners are appointed by the District High Sheriff with the consent of General Council, while the Municipal Council is appointed by Regional Sheriff. The Imperial Law makes allowances for the vast differences in Autonomous municipality size in a number of areas of administrative law.

Municipalities

In the Southern Continent, a Municipality is an urban centre which is independent from Arrondissements and therefore it is subordinated only to the Region. Municipalities governance, government and powers vary according their size, being grouped within three classes. As a general rule, all three classes have some limited form of administrative participation. The appointed head of Municipalities is the Portreeve.

Rural Arrondissements

Rural areas are framed under the arrondissement system, which have an organic democracy governance system. Rural areas are also featured by a mixed type of property: the Local Rural Communities enjoy of a communal property of land and production instruments, while ordinary villages are based on private property.
The Arrondissement administrative bodies consist of a Arrondissement Representative Committee and of a Arrondissement Executive Board, appointed by the District High Sheriff and chaired by the Arrondissement Reeve. The Committee consists, in turn, of five classes of members:

• Vor proprietors, who sit in person;
• Delegates of the small independent landowners;
• Commissioners of the Arrondissements Municipalities (i.e. Arrondissement Capital towns, ordinary land ownership);
• Heads of Local Rural Communities (small settled centres, special land ownership);
• Heads of Villages (i.e. small settled centres, ordinary land ownership).

The Arrondissiments are given large powers in relation to the incidence of taxation and such questions as education, medical relief, public welfare, food supply, and road maintenance in their localities. The Arrondissement are however subordinated to the Regional Sheriffs, whose consent is necessary for major decisions. They also have powers of discipline over the members.
The chief sources of Arrondissement revenue are rates on lands, forests, country dwellings, factories, mines and other real estate.
From a social point of view, the Arrondissement system is based on three main social classes: Vors and independent landowners, peasants of the Local Rural Communities and townsmen; the latter class provides essentiallhy technicians and expertise (each Arrondissement has at least a set of technical education institutes) which are necessary to both the Local Rural Communities and to independent proprietors, as well as limited industrial products for agriculture. Each Arrondissement tends to be an economic unit, being capable to provide the most basic needs to the local population.

Local Rural Community

The Local Rural Community is a form of both local government and production mood that was instituted during the reforms performed in by then-Prime Minister Serg Vorbarra after the 2960s crisis.
These Communities are peasant communities, as opposed to individual farmsteads, holding their land in communal ownership within a ommunity, which acted qt the same time as a village government and a cooperative. Each household has the right to claim one or more strips from each section depending on the number of adults in the household. The purpose of this allocation is overall social, due to the fact that the Local Rural Community acts as a single entity. Strips are periodically re-allocated to ensure equitable share of the land.
The eldest members of the household made up the community assembly in order to govern the redistribution of land. Families come together to form a community that depends on the concept of mutual help. The householders elect a Village Speaker who acts as a collector of taxes, for the repartition among individuals of the taxes imposed on the commune. Families cannot be deprived of their houses or implements necessary for agriculture; nor can the whole Community be deprived of its land. In the Rural Community by the Local Agricultural Cooperative, which operates in a comprehensive manner the land. Membership in the Cooperative is mandatory, and tax obligations are collective.

Greffiers

Greffiers are monocratic structures of the lower administrative levels, i.e. Regions, Municipalities and Arrondissiments. The Greffiers are employees of the Ministry of the West in order to ensure the centralized control of the system of local government. The Greffier is appointed by the Minister of the West or by the Regional Sheriff according to the importance of the institution.
The Greffier oversees the managers performance and directs their activities, participates in an advisory and assistance role to the Council meetings and the meetings of the Board and expresses the opinion of regularity on each proposed resolution. Moreover, he is a Judicial Officer and acts as a Notary Public. In particular, in Arrondissiments the Greffier has all the functions of management. In addition, the Greffier is responsible for the prevention of corruption, being linked to the Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty.
There are four Greffier Classes, which correspond to different government levels:

• A-Class Greffier: Regions, large Municipalities;
• B-Class Greffier: small Municipalities, Arrondissiments;
• C-Class Greffier: Arrondissements Municipalities and Local Rural Communities;
• D-Class Greffier: Villages

Special Urban Communities

A Special Urban Community is a city that has a status equivalent to that of a District. Hence, like the Districts, such cities are under the direct administration of the central government. There are three directly governed cities on Barrayar: Vorbarr Sultana, Black Reach City and Neurussland.

Komarr

The planet of Komarr, differently from Barrayar which does not possess a planetary government distinct from the Government of the Empire, has a centralized government body presided by the Imperial Representative, the Barrayaran Viceroy.
Emperor Serg Vorbarra has introduced, in continuity with his predecessor's latest policies and reforms, a partial association of the Komarran oligarchy to the conduct of planetary affairs, while the legislative power related to the government of the single domes is entrusted to the Komarran share-holders as how was before the Barrayaran conquest, although under the local Imperial Representative's surveillance and supervision. Both in central and in peripheral bodies, governance is shared between local share-owners assembly and local Imperial representative, variously styled. The former makes and prepares laws and legislative acts, the latter decides whether approve them and provide executions, as well as emergency legislation.

Voting shares

Komarr was born as a semi-democracy: being a corporation, governance was, and still is, exercised by share-owners and their vote is proportioned to their amount of share; however, being also a planetary community, all Komarran citizens (including Barrayar-born people legally resident) have at least one voting share, inalienable by law, while additional shares can be purchased on a secondary market. These "extra votes" are inheritable and trade-able on a secondary market. The plutocratic oligarchies control the government by clan possession of these extra votes. In order to avoid the degeneration of a private corporation owning the planetary corporation, voting shares cannot be held outright by corporations-they have to be in the hands of individuals. Typically, a planet-level oligarch detains from a thousand to five thousand planetary voting shares.
The ownership of shares is not only designed to have the right to vote, but also to enjoy profits (and suffer losses) of government-owned undertakings.

Komarr Corporation

Komarran government formally is a planetary corporation, which owns the whole planet. Voting shares are owned by Komarran citizens: at least a single share is granted by law, extra-shares could be purchased and brought. The owner of 67% of Komarran Corporation is the Barrayaran Empire, personified by the Emperor, which delegates his Imperial Representative to govern the Komarran Corp.
The Barrayaran legal system allocates certain powers to the Komarran Corporation.

Imperial Representative

The Imperial Representative is the deputy and delegate of the Emperor and of his Government in order to govern the planet and the star system of Komarr. The Imperial Representative is also the chief executive of the Komarran Board: he may approve or veto bills passed by the Komarran Council in matters regarding self-government sphere. Imperial Representative can appoint his ministers of Komarran Board and dismiss them. The Imperial Representative is the head of the executive branch of the devolved government of Komarr. He is accountable to the Emperor and, from a political point of view, to the Council of Counts.
The Imperial Representative is the Viceroy of Komarr and head of the Komarran Board. The Imperial Representative chairs the Board and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Komarran policy. As representative of the source of justice within the Barrayaran borders, he is also the chief of the whole Komarran judiciary, as well as the chief of the whole local security forces. In his capacity of Viceroy, the Imperial Representative can require the Imperial Service assistance, although he is not directly in charge of armed forces and of Imperial Security.
The Imperial Representative is appointed by the Emperor with the consent of the Council of Counts. Members of the Board as well as the Komarran law officers, are de facto appointed by the Imperial Representative: however, highest officials are unofficially proposed by the Imperial Representative and appointed by the Emperor.
Aral Alexander Graceev is the current Imperial Representative; he resides in the Imperial Government Building, Solstice, Solstice Sector.

Komarran Board

The Komarran Board is the executive body of the Komarran Corporation: it serves as planetary government. The Board is responsible in Komarr for all issues that are reserved to the Komarran Corporation; such devolved matters include health, education, justice and policing, rural affairs, economic development and transport. Furthermore, the Board is responsible for execution of policies of the Government of the Empire.

Komarran Immigration Services

The Komarran Immigration Services is an Komarran Board sub-department. It is responsible for immigration arrangements, border control, citizenship, ethnic affairs, multicultural affairs. The purpose of the Komarran Immigration Services is to manage movement and settlement of people on Komarr and their entrance into the Imperium across Komarr. The K.I.S. is depends on the Komarran Security Department and is overseen by the Ministry of the Interior on Barrayar.

Komarran Council

The Komarran Council is the 200-seat ruling council of the planet Komarr. After long preliminary phases, the Council was fully re-established in 2989 as premise to the policy of devolution of local powers to Komarr. Traditionally, the wealthiest families purchase seats in Komarr's ruling council, permitting family members to serve as Komarran Councillors.
The Komarran Council, which acts as Komarran legislature, has limited but effective powers, enjoying of the Cooperation procedure: the Council of Counts could reject the proposed law by the Komarran Senate by adopting a resolution with a qualified majority of 40 votes (out of 60 in total). The Cooperation procedure is permitted only on relatively restricted areas regarding the custom duties, some areas of the Komarran monetary policy and Komarran share-voting procedures and rules, within strict limitations dictated by the Emperor. However, in entirely internal matters, where general interests of the Empire are not involved, Komarran Council can legislate with the sole consent of Imperial Representative.
The Komarran Council is chaired by Chancellor General, who is elected by the Councillors, and has also the important function of supervise most of Komarran Board branches: he can, therefore, summon branch chief requesting clarifications and explainations, but nor he neither the Council can issue punishments.
The Council Commission of Inquiry is the body responsible for the preventive evaluation and analysis of the issues to be submitted to the Council. The Commission consists of nine members elected by the Council itself among the former Councillors.

Komarran Planetary Court

The Komarran Planetary Court is the highest court on Komarr for what regards Komarran Law. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over Sector courts and Dome court cases, both civil and criminal, with the exception of interventions of the Supreme Court of Empire, which are rather sporadic, of the Imperial Representative on behalf of the Empero or of the Emperor himself. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices who are nominated by the Emperor and confirmed by the Council of Counts. Once appointed, Justices have 10 years tenure unless they resign, retire, or are removed after impeachment.
Within the Komarran Planetary Court the specialised merchant section is named "Supreme Committee of Merchants" and receives appeals from the subordinated "Committee of Merchants", which are system-wide bodies; beyond the Supreme Committee of Merchants, there are other Sections, both civil and criminal: five Crimnal Sections and five Civil (non-Merchant) Sections.

Sectors

The planet is divided into twenty equal-sized Sectors, with responsibilities for regional government, headed by the Imperial Sector Representative. The Sectoral assembly is composed of 40 to 60 elected representatives of share-owners. Each Sector has a capital domed city, which gives its name to the whole Sector. Each Sector has at least a domed city; many also have several smaller domes for terraforming work. Sectors are the main local framework for affairs exceeding Dome-level competences: since the Sector Governments run their own internal affairs, they have control over a part of local tax money, run their local Sector Court of Appeals and provide a significant quota of local public services.

Sector Imperial Representative

The Sector Imperial Representative is the deputy of the planetary-level Imperial Representative. He is in charge of representing Imperial interests, of providing execution to both Imperial and planetary policies and acts, and to bills passed by the local Sector Assembly, unless the latter ones are judged of being capable of harming Imperial interests. In order to execute laws and acts, the Representative presides the Sector Executive Commission.
The Sector Imperial Representative resides in the local Sector Consulate Building.

Sectoral Police Services

All Sectors operate sector-wide police forces. They may are called "Police Service - SECTOR NAME" (e.g. "Police Service - Solstice Sector"). Sector police are a police body unique to each Sector, having sector-wide authority to conduct law enforcement activities and criminal investigations. In general, they perform functions outside the jurisdiction of the Dome Security Office, such as overseeing the security of the Sector capitol complex, protecting the Imperial Sector Representative and local officials, training new officers for local Dome police forces, providing technological and scientific support services, and helping to coordinate multi-jurisdictional task force activity.

Sector Assembly

The Sector Assembly is the legislative body of the sectoral government. Differently from Komarran Council, it is composed of elected representatives of share-owners, and not of direct seat purchasers: however, Sector Assemblies are elected according each's voting power and there is no equality. It has a general competence over sectoral matters, such as administration, health services, terraforming specifications (within the planetary framework), security regulations and inter-dome services.
The Assembly is elected according to a electoral systems with single-member legislative districts: usually an average Dome has 3 to 8 representatives.

Domed cities

Due the inhospitable environment, all the Komarran population is closed within the domed cities. These cities are sprawling urban communities covered by massive arcologies which keep citizens protect from the oxygen-poor atmosphere. Cities are far apart from each other, and outside them there is nothing but some research stations and Komarr Terraforming Project advanced laboratories: therefore the City is the very basic unit within Komarran polity and all basic services are carried out on a City basis.
Since cities are the very basic level of essential services provision, Dome Government retains the most part of taxes which are not to be turned to the Imperial Government.
The executive–assembly government system is the form of local government adopted for the Komarran domed cities. Characterized by having a governor who is appointed by the Emperor, the executive–assembly consists of an executive branch, a governor and a unicameral council as the legislative branch. The appointed governor is given almost total administrative authority and a clear, wide range of political independence, with the power to appoint and dismiss department heads without council approval and little, or no public input. The governor prepares and administers the city budget. The governor is appointed to a five-year term and is responsible for the administration of city government.
The City Assembly is a unicameral body consisting of 30 to 60 members, each elected by local shareholders, normally for five-year terms.
In each Dome the "Commission for Peace" is a criminal court in charge of settling minor acts of violence, while the "Judges of the Undesidered Ones" deal with major criminal cases.

Executive branch

The executive branch consists of the Imperial City Representative and Governor and two to five Borough Lieutenant Governors. The heads of city departments are appointed by the Governor. The Governor also appoints several Deputy Governors to head major offices within the executive branch of the city government. Deputy Governors report directly to the Governor.

City Imperial Representative and Governor

The City Imperial Representative and Governor is responsible for all city services, police and fire protection, enforcement of all within the city, and administration of public property and most public agencies. The Governor is appointed by the Emperor for a five-year term.

Lieutenant Governor

Each recognized borough within the city is headed by a Lieutenant Governor. The Lieutenant Governor's powers are limited. They generally serve as ceremonial leaders who advocate for their boroughs on key issues. Lieutenant Governors advise the Governor on issues relating to each borough, comment on all land use items in their borough, advocate borough needs in the annual municipal budget process, administer a small discretionary budget for projects within each borough, appoint Community Boards, and chair the Borough Boards.

Dome Assembly

Legislative power in domed cities is vested in the Dome Assemblies. Bills passed by a simple majority are sent to the mayor, who may sign them into law or veto them if bills are judged of being capable of harming Imperial interests. The Assembly is a unicameral body consisting of 30 to 60 Assembly members. Assembly members are elected every five years.
Assemblies have several committees with oversight of various functions of city government. Each Assembly member sits on at least three standing, select or subcommittees. The Speaker of the Assembly is ex officio members of every committee.

Sergyar

Sergyar is part of the Barrayaran Empire as a Vice-royalty. The Viceroy is appointed to govern and rule over Sergyar, based on his authority as Emperor of Barrayar and Sergyar being territory of his Empire. The viceroy has some military authority for matters directly related to the system security; although it is not a military position, he is most often a military officer, both active duty and retired.
Viceroy carries as much clout as Imperial Auditor; the Viceroy speaks "with the Emperor's voice", the Viceroy doing so in the running of a government.
It is to note that, while Komarr is "only" five days away from Barrayar, to reach Sergyar from Barrayar with a fast courier a one-and-half weeks long trip is needed. Therefore, any fast physical communication takes no less than three weeks to go from the capital to Sergyar and to return. Such a distance makes necessary to establish a semi-autonomous government system, and the human factor is more important in the choose of the Sergyaran Viceroy than in the choose of the Komarran Representative.

Viceregal Government

The Vice-royalty is administered by a Viceroy residing in Capital City, who runs the Viceregal Government, which in turn has administrative oversight, direction and control powers and legislative and executive functions for the planet. Most matters are handled by the local governmental bodies, which govern the various regions of the Vice-royalty. First among these are the 21 Territorial Chanceries, which are administrative and regulatory authorities as well as superior tribunals. Each of the Territorial Chancellors is responsible directly to the Viceroy in administrative matters, although in judicial ones he is responsible to the Legal Commission. Chancery districts further incorporate the smaller divisions known as Governorates. At the local level there are 630 Districts, which are headed by a Government Commissioner, who has judicial and administrative powers.

Viceroy's General Commission

The Viceroy's Executive Commission is the most important administrative organ of the planet. It consists of eight Executive Commissioners, who in turn preside over individual Commissions.
Civil suits of sufficient importance and criminal cases can be appealed from a Chancery to the General Commission, Legal Commission, functioning as a court of last resort.

Territorial Chancery

The Sergyaran Territorial Chanceries are composite authorities which have regulatory, executive and judicial functions, and thus represented both the Emperor in his role as maker of laws and dispenser of justice and the Viceroy as Emperor's representative. Chanceries share many government duties with the Viceroys. In Viceregal capital, the Viceroy himself serves as a Territorial Chancellor. The Territorial Chancellor serves as the Government Commissioner of the local district and the region is often referred to as a "Pretorial District". The Viceroy retains the right to oversee, control and manage the administration of other Territorial Chanceries, but could not interfere in judicial matters out of the review of the Legal Commission.
Chancery officials, especially the Chancellor, are subject to two forms of review. At the end of the Chancellor's term, a judgement of the period in office is carried out, which reviews the Chancellor's performance on the job and collected interviews many people affected by the Chancery's performance. Unscheduled inspections are also carried out by the Viceregal Auditors or even by Imperial Auditors, if the Emperor feels it is needed.

Judicial functions

In their judicial function, a Chancery hears appeals from cases initially handled by justices of first instance. The Chancery also serves as the court of first instance for crimes committed in the immediate jurisdiction of the city that served as the Chancery's seat and any case involving Imperial officials. Criminal cases and major civil cases could be appealed to the Viceregal Legal Commission, and only then within a statute of limitation of one year.

Size and composition

The size and composition of a Chancery varies over place. Usually, a Chancery has four Deputy Chancellors, one Chancellor and two Judicial Chambers, handling civil and criminal cases separately. The Civil Judicial Chamber has seven Civil Judges and a Prosecutor. The Criminal Judicial Chamber has five Criminal Judges and its own Prosecutor. In addition the Chancery has sundry other officers such as notaries, bailiffs, and public defenders.

Related voices

• Government of Barrayar
• Vorbarr Sultana (Barrayar)