Imperial warrants per year

[rancke]

In the absence of a board that discusses all aspects about the Official Traveller Universe not covered by the Navy, Scout, Adventures, Technology, and Aliens boards, I'm posting here.

Another thread made me wonder, how common do you think Imperial warrants are? How many does Strephon issue in ordinary times? Several per decade? Several per year? Dozens per year? Hundreds? Thousands? More?


Hans

 

[far-trader]

Well, let's look at the Library Data first so we're all on the same page at the beginning...

:alpha:

Imperial Warrant:

Instrument of power issued at the highest levels of government. A warrant is a written or electronic document provided to trusted agents of the Imperium as a method of bypassing the bureaucracy.

Typically, a warrant is provided by the Emperor to an individual who utilizes the power it provides to accomplish some mission. Missions may include establishment of colonies in areas requiring development, the assumption of military command in the midst of a crisis, and the unilateral establishment of new noble lines to administer provinces which have suffered from war or economic collapse.

It is possible for nobility other than the Emperor to issue a warrant, though the scope of the warrant is limited to the area of control of the nobility.*

See also Imperial Edict 97.

mega:

* NOTE: The above italicized line was in the Traveller Wiki entry but apparently is without supporting sources. The Wiki has been edited to more accurately reflect canon.



:alpha:

Imperial Edict 97:

This executive order is the enabling act for the use of Imperial Warrants. Unusually obscure for such a wide ranging and powerful edict, it is nonetheless on file at all Imperial installations. The edict text runs to 34 pages, much of it pure legalese; when distilled down, it proves very direct - assist the holder of an Imperial Warrant with all the power you can bring to bear.

mega:

 

[far-trader]

So, there are Imperial Warrants, issued by Archdukes enforced/enforceable at the Domain level and so on down from there. How low in the "highest levels of government" does the power to issue Imperial Warrants extend?

And then there are IMPERIAL Warrants issued by the Emperor enforced/enforceable across the Imperium.

There are probably very very few IMPERIAL Warrants issued. And these would (should) only be available directly from The Emperor and probably only issued to the highest nobles and officers and at Capital. Archdukes, Dukes, and perhaps IN Grand Admirals. Their scope is such they would not be issued/used for "minor" matters. If I had to give a hard number I'd say an average of 1 per year. There would be more during Imperium wide crisis, and fewer in times of peace and stability. Decades may pass without a single one being issued. Some Emperors may reign without ever issuing one.

There would be a few more Imperial Warrants issued by Archdukes. Again probably only available in person at the Archduke's base of operations. Issued to Dukes, Counts and perhaps IN Admirals. The more limited scope (Domain level) and immediacy would see more issued. Something on the order of 2 to 12 (yes I think in D6 for CT ) a year maybe. And while not issued for "minor" matters some of the concerns would be minor on an Imperium wide scale.

Then there would be the hundreds or more Imperial Warrants issued...

...by Dukes (for Sectors?) to Counts, Marquis, and perhaps IN Captains.

...by Counts (for Subsectors?) to Marquis, Barons, and perhaps IN Commanders.

...by Marquis (for Worlds?) to Barons and Knights (maybe).

I don't think Barons would have the power to issue Imperial Warrants.

So a nothing nobody (like a PC not a high noble or IN Officer) showing up with an Imperial Warrant is not going to be taken at face value and had better have a very good story to go along with that Imperial Warrant if anyone is going to believe them. A Baron might pull off flashing a Ducal Imperial Warrant, and an IN Commander (retired even) wouldn't be deeply questioned employing County Imperial Warrant.

Just have an ex-Merchant Free Trader crew try getting some lifesupport and fuel at a starport on an IMPERIAL Warrant though and see how quickly the local forces "invite" them to explain the situation and provide some proof or face the full force of Imperial Justice.

That'd be my quick take on it.

 

[rancke]

So, there are Imperial Warrants, issued by Archdukes enforced/enforceable at the Domain level and so on down from there. How low in the "highest levels of government" does the power to issue Imperial Warrants extend?

And then there are IMPERIAL Warrants issued by the Emperor enforced/enforceable across the Imperium.

Nowhere does it say that the warrants issued by archdukes are called Imperial warrants.

"Only the emperor has the power to issue [warrants under Imperial Edict 97]. A similar edict (Imperial Edict 3097) provides limited power to the archdukes of the Imperium to issue similar warrants, although they are limited in their duration and territory." [IE:27]​

Then there would be the hundreds or more Imperial Warrants issued...

...by Dukes (for Sectors?) to Counts, Marquis, and perhaps IN Captains.

...by Counts (for Subsectors?) to Marquis, Barons, and perhaps IN Commanders.

...by Marquis (for Worlds?) to Barons and Knights (maybe).

I don't think Barons would have the power to issue Imperial Warrants.

For a long time I've assumed that sector dukes could issue warrants covering their sector (one of my early Casual Encounters for JTAS Online was a MoJ agent with a warrant from Duchess Delphine), and that dukes could issue warrants for their respective duchies, but the text in the library data actually only mentions archdukes as covered by Imperial Edict 3097.

I'm going to assume that there is a third edict that allows dukes to issue warrants, but I hjave to admit that I know of no canonical support wahatsoever for that. It just makes so much sense to me. Whereas I don't think that counts and below can issue warrants unless empowered to do so by their dukes. The reason is that interstellar government starts at the subsector (or as I like to amend it to, duchy) level. Counts, marquesses, and barons do not funxction as a level of government.

Be that as it may, what I'm asking about are the warrants issued by emperors, not any lesser warrants, regardless of what they're called.


Hans

 

[far-trader]

Nowhere does it say that the warrants issued by archdukes are called Imperial warrants.

Well it was the implication I read in the CT entry. The "clarification" in MT:

"Only the emperor has the power to issue [warrants under Imperial Edict 97]. A similar edict (Imperial Edict 3097) provides limited power to the archdukes of the Imperium to issue similar warrants, although they are limited in their duration and territory." [IE:27]


​

...is helpful, thanks. I'd not gone looking for other cites and forgotten about it.

I'm going to assume that there is a third edict that allows dukes to issue warrants...

Seems logical and reasonable to me So there's no handy canon support. There's also nothing to discredit the idea. In fact the precedence set by Edict 3097 sounds like support for more as yet undisclosed (nobody wrote it up yet) edicts.

...interstellar government starts at the subsector (or as I like to amend it to, duchy) level. Counts, marquesses, and barons do not function as a level of government.

I thought there were Imperial Cluster and World levels of government. But it could just be a house rule as I don't recall a source for that. Something connected with the awarding of fiefs maybe.

Anyway, you're correct, I wasn't really processing the "highest levels of government" bit of the description

Be that as it may, what I'm asking about are the warrants issued by emperors, not any lesser warrants, regardless of what they're called.

OK, then very very few, as above

 

[far-trader]

Perhaps better discussed here...

Adventure 1: Kinunir expands on the Library Data a bit...

"In some select instances, Strephon has been know to exercise his power through agents rather than directly through the bureaucracy of the Imperium. These instances are rare, although there is reason to believe that such agents are more numerous than appears."

Is it me or is that suggesting that Strepon was the first to enact the Imperial Warrant? Or simply that he appears to be using it more loosely than predecessors? That may support more than a very very few Imperial Warrants a year. Heck he could be handing the things out like business cards

There's also a "sample" Imperial Warrant

Capital

The bearer of this warrant is acting for the good of the Imperium and the Emperor. Extend him every assistance.

Strephon

Talk about carte blanche :devil:

 

[aramis]

My take is that there are probably more than 6 dozen valid "97's" in the 3I, and they are scattered about. The prime minister undoubtedly has one, for safety reasons. I presume every archduke is, by virtue of being an archduke, going to be issued one as well, but not normally in the any-bearer format. Most never get used other than to bypass security.

Capital

The bearer, Archduke Dulinor Astrin llethian, acts for the good of the Imperium and the Emperor. Extend His Grace every assistance.

Strephon​

IMTU, almost all warrants are issued with specified bearers.
Like Hans, I allow ducal warrants for sector dukes, and I extend it to subsector dukes.

In (mainstream) canon, we do not have any canonical examples of cluster governments. We have a few multi-world polities shown by type 6 governments. We have a few autonomous zones, like the Vegan Autonomous District and the Solomani Autonomous Region (before the Solomani Rebellion), but both of these are multi-subsector or larger.

There are implications that there might be some.

 

[Icosahedron]

It strikes me that this 'Imperial Warrant' is another of those ideas that wasn't thought through.
Certainly, the 'carte blanche' example is pretty ridiculous - no ruler in his right mind would hand out a document like that.

A warrant would probably comprise an 'abstract' of a paragraph describing in layman's terms what it permitted and in what circumstances, followed by pages of legalese about terms and conditions in case anyone queried its use or abuse.

I don't think warrants would be issued to nobility - their rank performs the same purpose, they are given every assistance and are assumed to be working for the good of the Imperium anyway - if they weren't, they'd be deposed.

A warrant is more likely to be issued to a servant in the noble's staff who is spying on behalf of the Emperor in order to gather evidence to depose the noble. A warrant like that would be very specific to the needs of the spy operation and would not, for example, permit the holder to requisition a battleship in another sector, though it might permit him to requisition a courier ship locally or escape a ducal charge of treason.

In addition, I doubt if the 'document' would be handed to the person concerned. At least, not as a sole method. More likely, any warrants would be encrypted and made available to those members of officialdom who might question the individual's actions. That way, an individual can't easily forge or lose the document, he would simply quote his Warrant reference number when questioned, and the officials would 'break the seal' on their own copy of that particular warrant, read its contents, and give him every assistance within its terms.

I doubt if more than a dozen or so would be issued in a year, but perhaps several hundred might be in force at any one time.

Yes, I can see lesser nobles issuing similar warrants for similar reasons within their own sphere of influence.

Just my Cr2.

 

[aramis]

Keep in mind, Icosahedron, that about the only people who are going to be trusted to do the kind of stuff that would require this level of authority are persons close to the throne anyway... most of them will be nobles. It's safe to assume that they are numbered, and that there is a database showing who is supposed to bear it, but given the dissemination times, it's likely that individual nobles might be arriving well before their "public" announcement is made. Further, for archdukes, at least, having a warrant themselves makes them immune outside their own jurisdiction, should they have to act while en route; it's also quite possible not all archdukes get one...

Best example of the premise in a non-traveller setting is the vorKosigan series, from Komarr onward. "Imperial Auditor Miles Naismith vorKosigan" has his "key," and all Barrayarran government ID systems have to open everything when presented with a confirm of bearer and key.

Anyway, back to Traveller. Archdukes, perhaps, might have equivalent authrity within their domain, but without warrant, not outside. Sector Dukes likewise have been shown to have considerable force... inside their domain.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

There are probably very very few IMPERIAL Warrants issued. And these would (should) only be available directly from The Emperor and probably only issued to the highest nobles and officers and at Capital. Archdukes, Dukes, and perhaps IN Grand Admirals.

They already have enough power to do pretty much anything they want. Warrants are for people who don't.

BTW, I changed the wording to:

To whom it may concern,

Be aware that the barer of this Imperial Warrant speaks with Our Voice, and is acting for the good of the Imperium. We request and require all of Our loyal Subjects to allow the barer to pass freely without hindrance and to afford the barer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.

Strephon

 

[Spinward Scout]

So would it logically follow that someone (not a noble) who receives an Imperial Warrant and is successful at their mission is on their way to becoming a noble?

 

[Andrew Boulton]

It would depend on the situation, but that's reasonable.

 

[Icosahedron]

Keep in mind, Icosahedron, that about the only people who are going to be trusted to do the kind of stuff that would require this level of authority are persons close to the throne anyway... most of them will be nobles. It's safe to assume that they are numbered, and that there is a database showing who is supposed to bear it, but given the dissemination times, it's likely that individual nobles might be arriving well before their "public" announcement is made. Further, for archdukes, at least, having a warrant themselves makes them immune outside their own jurisdiction, should they have to act while en route; it's also quite possible not all archdukes get one...

Best example of the premise in a non-traveller setting is the vorKosigan series, from Komarr onward. "Imperial Auditor Miles Naismith vorKosigan" has his "key," and all Barrayarran government ID systems have to open everything when presented with a confirm of bearer and key.

Anyway, back to Traveller. Archdukes, perhaps, might have equivalent authrity within their domain, but without warrant, not outside. Sector Dukes likewise have been shown to have considerable force... inside their domain.

Well, I have limited knowledge of the OTU nobility, so I'm trying to figure a situation in which the Duke of Somerset would be unable to pull strings and get pretty much anything he wants just because he is visiting neighbouring Devonshire.

It doesn't make sense to me. Someone with that much authority in the Imperium will have pretty much anything he wants anywhere he goes.
I just don't see an Imperial warrant providing him with anything that an Imperial title won't.
IMO, the title acts as a warrant.

(Edit: Except that a warrant would be needed to allow one archduke to contradict or arrest another.)

In fact, the guy will probably have considerable influence even outside Imperial sovereign space. I'm stretching my flimsy OTU knowledge here, but I'm trying to picture an Aslan police officer arresting the Imperial Duke of Regina for carrying a body pistol on an Aslan LL9 world. The whole incident would be hushed up as 'diplomatic immunity' by the police top brass and the unfortunate copper would likely get an early vacation.

I agree however that the recipient of a warrant would have to be of proven loyalty and my example of a servant spy may have been a little flippant, I doubt if a warrant would be issued to a 'deniable asset', but equally I don't see them being issued to nobility.

Perhaps a more sensble example would be the soviet party members (whatever they were called) aboard warships who, thanks to their warrant, can influence the decisions of the ship's CO. Courtiers/officers on courier missions might be most likely to receive a warrant.

A lot depends on what we think a warrant is. As I said, I think the carte blanche is an ill-conceived non-starter. Is it a licence to kill? Is it a universal passport (eg to Red Zones)? Is it a licence to commandeer transport? Is it a Get Out Of Jail Free card? There may be different types of Imperial warrant and their scope will determine their frequency.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

High-level Nobles (say Duke and above) wouldn't need a Warrant, but equally they can't go off troubleshooting - they're too busy, and when they travel it's a major operation involving a small fleet.

I think low-level Nobles or mid-rank (or retired) military officers would be the normal choice - someone with proven abilities and trustworthiness, and with the freedom to travel.

 

[rancke]

Well, I have limited knowledge of the OTU nobility, so I'm trying to figure a situation in which the Duke of Somerset would be unable to pull strings and get pretty much anything he wants just because he is visiting neighbouring Devonshire.

Well, if he showed up in Devon and tried to expropriate land to found a new city, he might have a bit of trouble regardless of his social prominence. Or if he wanted to remove the Duke of Devonshire and replace him with the Baron of Torridge, Devon might ask if the Queen was OK with that.

It doesn't make sense to me. Someone with that much authority in the Imperium will have pretty much anything he wants anywhere he goes.

Not if he's infringing on someone else's prerogatives.

I just don't see an Imperial warrant providing him with anything that an Imperial title won't.

See p. 61 of GT:Nobles for a detailed description of Imperial warrants. Basically, they're used for overreaching the established chains of command.

In fact, the guy will probably have considerable influence even outside Imperial sovereign space. I'm stretching my flimsy OTU knowledge here, but I'm trying to picture an Aslan police officer arresting the Imperial Duke of Regina for carrying a body pistol on an Aslan LL9 world. The whole incident would be hushed up as 'diplomatic immunity' by the police top brass and the unfortunate copper would likely get an early vacation.

If said Aslans accorded diplimatic immunity to an Imperial representative, his actual noble rank would be irrelevant. Either an envoy has immunity or he doesn't; it has nothing to do with his social prominence.

A lot depends on what we think a warrant is. As I said, I think the carte blanche is an ill-conceived non-starter. Is it a licence to kill? Is it a universal passport (eg to Red Zones)? Is it a licence to commandeer transport? Is it a Get Out Of Jail Free card? There may be different types of Imperial warrant and their scope will determine their frequency.

Mylady's note allowed her to escape punishment for crimes she might commit in the Cardinal's service but it didn't allow her to go down to Le Havre and order a fleet to invade England. An Imperial warrant gives the holder great authority, but it doesn't allow him to get away with crimes.


Hans

 

[Easterner9504]

Crime

When did invading a nation of shopkeepers become illegal in France?

 

[rancke]

When did invading a nation of shopkeepers become illegal in France?

What's your point?


Hans

 

[Icosahedron]

Well, if he showed up in Devon and tried to expropriate land to found a new city, he might have a bit of trouble regardless of his social prominence. Or if he wanted to remove the Duke of Devonshire and replace him with the Baron of Torridge, Devon might ask if the Queen was OK with that.

See my Edit. Yes, a warrant would be needed for that.

Not if he's infringing on someone else's prerogatives.

See my Edit.

See p. 61 of GT:Nobles for a detailed description of Imperial warrants. Basically, they're used for overreaching the established chains of command.

Not got it, I'm afraid.

If said Aslans accorded diplimatic immunity to an Imperial representative, his actual noble rank would be irrelevant. Either an envoy has immunity or he doesn't; it has nothing to do with his social prominence.

Maybe. OTOH, If the Duke of Somerset and Yours Truly both commit identical faux pas whilst on holiday in Denmark, which of us is more likely to get retrospective diplomatic immunity?

Mylady's note allowed her to escape punishment for crimes she might commit in the Cardinal's service but it didn't allow her to go down to Le Havre and order a fleet to invade England. An Imperial warrant gives the holder great authority, but it doesn't allow him to get away with crimes.

Well, that depends on the content of the warrant, I suppose. That's what I was questioning. Can a warrant allow you to get away with crimes or not?

 

[rancke]

OTOH, If the Duke of Somerset and Yours Truly both commit identical faux pas whilst on holiday in Denmark, which of us is more likely to get retrospective diplomatic immunity?

Do you mean retroactive? Neither. Diplomatic immunity is something you have to have before you commit an offense. Now, if you're asking if a duke is more likely to run into a policeman who is willing to bend the rules, then you may be on to something. But the policeman had better hope and pray that no newspaper reporter gets wind of it. This has absolutely nothing to do with any rights the duke may have that you don't. There isn't any such rights unless he is an accredited diplomat.

Well, that depends on the content of the warrant, I suppose. That's what I was questioning. Can a warrant allow you to get away with crimes or not?

"Note that a warrant is a delegation of the Emperor's legal powers, and can't exceed the limits of those powers. If, for example, the treaty between the Imperium and a member world allows the world an unusual degree of autonomy, a Ministry of Justice agent has to respect that regardless of what his warrant says." [Nobles, p. 61]



Hans

 

[aramis]

Hans:
That GT quote is without basis in non-GT sources.

Especially since the warrant Norris obtains is in fact ex post facto justification for the forbidden attempt to obtain it.

An Imperial Warrant legalizes all actions taken... only the issuer can cancel it. They speak with the Emperor's Voice, and act with the Emperor's authority; the Emperor is the font of all imperial law.

While the treaty of admission might grant certain powers to the locals, that's not going to matter much in the face of a warrant, if that world is filled with even a large minority of now-loyal-to-the-3I citizens, or the warrant holder arrives with "assistance" of a BatRon. (Yes, I've had a player do just that kind of thing... toppling a semi-autonomous client state for harboring Ine Givar... on a ducal from Delphine.)