NOTES: The Global Armistice Resolution, Form and Function

GAR authority was never homogeneous, however. Much of the current century has been dominated by numerous challenges to GAR supremacy. Nationalism has made resurgence in the world, with populations—particularly on the African continent—carving out their own republics in defiance of the planetary government. The GAR credits itself for uniting the human race half way through the 22nd century, but despite this claim war rages once again on the Earth.

Despite its shortcomings, the GAR has managed to keep some semblance of democracy. The planetary government consists of four branches: A tricameral legislature, parliamentary executive, judiciary, and independent military.

The legislature is built around a popularly elected lower house called the National Committee, consisting of 1,000 committee members apportioned to each member state according to economic stature, and an upper house called the Coalition Senate with senators seated by the governments of the various member states. Beside these two houses is the Military Council whose membership is determined by the Terran Fleet. Only commissioned officers may vote for council members in a highly secretive ballot, and those votes are weighted by rank with the President at the top.

The executive branch consists of the Coalition President and his administration, department heads, cabinet, and chiefs of staff who are all members of the Executive Committee. The President is determined in parliamentary fashion by the National Committee, and although any National Committee member may run for President the position defaults to the leader of the majority party. Once elected the President serves for ten years regardless of the party hierarchy.

The President expresses unlimited power to direct the executive departments as established by the congress. The President’s powers include, but are not limited to: the cast of a command ballot in the Military Council, the unilateral appointment and termination of all personnel within the government including the Executive Committee, command of the Palace Guard, and unenumerated powers to direct the government by executive order. The President’s war and police powers are directly checked by Military Council and Terran Fleet, who make most if not all military decisions.

The Terran Fleet represents the combined military might of Earth and is the independent military wing of the GAR tasked with maintaining global security. The Fleet expresses its mission with a broad brush, interpreting global security to mean everything from threats to regional stability to simple issues of trade. The Terran Fleet began as the Coalition Navy, and as its name implies the Coalition Navy was a blue-water navy comprised of thousands of surface ships and submarines with capabilities and missions ranging from nuclear threat management, humanitarian aid, naval and land based aviation, amphibious assault, to covert operations. During the 22nd century the Coalition Navy began taking over abandoned Commonwealth space platforms and assumed orbital operations from the defunct Coalition Space Administration, and in 2134 was renamed the Terran Fleet.

The judicial branch of the GAR is the Supreme Court of the Coalition which seats thirteen Grand Justices by appointment of the Coalition Senate who preside with life tenure over a global system of regional appeals courts. Below the regional courts are the small district courts of original jurisdiction and other intermediate appeals courts established as case load requires.