Imperial Privy Council of Laurasia

The Imperial Privy Council of the Laurasian Empire, also known as the Imperial Privy Council of Laurasia, the Imperial Privy Council, the Laurasian Privy Council, the Imperial State Council, and rarely as the Council of Ministers, is the leading executive council of the Laurasian Empire and the chief advisory body to the Emperor and Autocrat of All the Laurasians. Comprising of the Great Officers of State, the Ministers of the Laurasian Empire, six minor Officials of State, and six Privy Councilors without portfolio, the Council is responsible for executing the monarch's commands, dispensing advice on affairs of state, supervising daily government administration, and communicating government orders to lower officials, the Governor-Generals, the Provincial Governors, and the Planetary Governors, among other duties. The monarch is the ultimate head of the Privy Council and has absolute authority as regarding to its affairs.

Composition
The members of the Imperial Privy Council are collectively known as "The Lords of His (Her) Majesty's Honorable Privy Council". The chief officer of the Imperial Privy Council is normally the Chancellor of the Laurasian Empire, holding the status of President of the Imperial Privy Council. This has not always been the case, however. For example, from 1772 to 1798, the Imperial Lord Treasurer served as the chief officer of the Council, having been granted precedence and supervision rights over all other Councilors, Ministers, and Officers of State through a special decree of the Empress Aurelia. In the present reign however, the custom of having the Chancellor as the leading officer has been restored. All members of the Privy Council are appointed and may be summarily dismissed by the Sovereign at will. Upon taking their office, they are required to swear a oath of allegiance to the Sovereign and to the Imperial Government. All members of the Privy Council are directly responsible to the Sovereign, with the Chancellor serving as the Sovereign's representative in routine administration. The Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor are the two highest ranking members of the Privy Council itself, although they are not the highest-ranking officials in terms of precedence who sit on the Council. That honor instead belongs to the Six Great Officers of State, who are the officers of the Imperial Household. These are (in order of their precedence): the Imperial High Steward, the Imperial Treasurer, the Imperial Privy Seal, the Imperial Great Chamberlain, the Imperial Constable, and the Imperial Marshal. Although they are the highest-precedence members of the Council, they do not have the right to participate in the drafting of Council orders, unless if specific permission is granted by the Sovereign.

Below the Great Officers of State are the Imperial Ministers of State, each of whom is a Imperial government minister responsible for the affairs of a certain field of governmental administration. The government ministers of the Laurasian Empire are the Imperial Minister of Defense, the Imperial Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Imperial Minister of Education, the Imperial Minister of Health and Welfare, the Imperial Minister of Space and Transportation, the Imperial Minister of Energy and Planetary Resources, the Imperial Minister of Agriculture, the Imperial Minister of Imperial Works and Holdings, the Imperial Minister of Regional and Colonial Administration, the Imperial Minister of the Chancellory, the Imperial Minister of Culture and Communications, the Imperial Minister of Internal Security, the Imperial Minister of Justice, the Imperial Minister of Finance, and the Imperial Minister of Commerce and Labor. Then there are the six officials who are members of the Council although they occupy lower positions then the Great Officers and the Ministers of State. These are the Sovereign's Personal Secretary, the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Chancellory, the Director of the Imperial Intelligence Agency, the Director of the Imperial Internal Revenues Service, the Director of the Imperial Bureau of Ships and Services, and the Lord Comptroller of the Imperial Household. Finally, there are the six Privy Councilors without Portfolio, persons chosen at the monarch's discretion who do not hold any direct position within the Imperial Government. The six Privy Councilors are normally prominent nobles or Knights of the Empire chosen by the monarch because of their able counsel abilities and the respect which they hold because of their qualities, normally honesty, efficiency, loyalty, and discipline. They too, cannot participate in the drafting of Council Orders without the express permission of the monarch.

Privy Council oath
The following oath is taken by all members of the Privy Council upon assuming their office and their place on the Privy Council, according to the decree of 24 January 1801:


 * You do swear by the Almighty Lord of All, the Lord Almitis, to be a true and faithful Servant unto His (Her) Imperial Majesty, as one of His (Her) Majesty's Privy Council. You will not know or understand of any manner of thing to be attempted, done, or spoken against His (Her) Majesty's Person, Honor, Crown, or Dignity Imperial, but you will let and withstand the same to the uttermost of your Power, and either cause it to be revealed to His (Her) Majesty Himself (Herself), or to such of His (Her) Privy Privy Council as shall advertise His (Her) Majesty of the same. You will, in all things to moved, treated, and debated in Council, faithfully and truly declare your Mind and your Opinion, according to your Heart and Conscience, and as authorized by His (Her) Majesty; and will keep secret all Matters committed and revealed unto you, or that shall be treated of secretly in Council. And if any of the said Treaties or Counsels shall touch any of the Councilors, you will not reveal it unto him, but will keep the same until such time, as, by Consent of His (Her) Majesty, or of the Council, Publication shall be made thereof. You will to your uttermost bear Faith and Allegiance unto the Emperor's (Empresses') Majesty; and will assist and defend in all matters which His (Her) Majesty may see fit to provide to you; and you will defend the Authority of His (Her) Majesty against all Threats, Foreign and Domestic, and against all Foreign Princes, Persons, Prelates, States, or Potentates. You swear henceforth to always be true to His (Her) Majesty, and to always acknowledge the effects of the autocratic authority enjoyed by His (Her) Majesty. And generally in all things you will do as a faithful and true Servant ought to do to His (Her) Majesty. So help you Almitis.

Meetings of the Council
As the Sovereign is the ultimate head of the Imperial Privy Council, he or she holds absolute authority as regards to its affairs. As such, the Sovereign has the power to summon the Council to meet and to dismiss it from the same. The Sovereign may also wish to summon only certain members of the Council to his or her presence, or to summon individual ministers, in order to consult with just them. The Council meets on a regular basis, but just how many times it meets depends upon the particular Sovereign in power. Aurelia the Great, for example, normally summoned the Council about three times a week during the first ten years of her reign. Thereafter, the number of times she summoned the Council increased, until by the end of her reign, the Council was meeting almost every day. The current Laurasian Emperor, Lysimachus II, prefers to summon the full Council just once a week, and to confer with individual Councilors, Ministers, or Officers of State every day. Nevertheless, the Council does have regular meeting places. It has both private and public meeting chambers in the Quencilvanian Palace. When the Council meets in the Public Chambers, it is normally for a official Imperial Announcement or a Proclamation, such as the Accession, Coronation, and Decease of a Monarch Proclamations. Such meetings are normally joint sessions with the Governing Senate or the Holy Synod, or with both. Council debates whom the Sovereign deems fit for the public to hear may also be held in the Council chambers, as are public inquiries and trial proceedings.

When matters being discussed are confidential or classified, or when it is a routine meeting, the Council assembles in the Private Meeting Chambers. The Council also has its own Meeting Chambers in the Diplomatic Palace, a Meeting Hall at the Senatorial Palace, and assembly rooms at each of the Sovereign's palaces. Attendance of a Council by the Sovereign also depends. Aurelia the Great, for example, attended nearly every Council meeting, while Lysimachus II attends only on special occasions, preferring to control matters from behind the scenes. Whenever the Sovereign is in attendance, he or she controls the session, and the Chancellor is merely one of many subordinates. When the Sovereign is not in attendance, however, the Chancellor presides over the Privy Council. It is within his duties to take notes and records about Council proceedings, moderate Council discussions and debates, communicate the Sovereign's orders or wishes to the Council, and organize the matters debated by the Council. The Chancellor is also responsible for communicating reports about Council matters, as well as the notes, to the Sovereign. Normally, the Chancellor will hold a audience with the Sovereign as soon as possible after the Council meeting.

The Privy Council also has numerous sub-committees, smaller councils or bureaus which focus on particular policy areas, especially ones which cut across several ministerial responsibilities, and therefore require extensive coordination. Such committees may be permanent (such as the Committee of Colonization Defense) or established on a ad-hoc basis (such as as a Emergency Situation Committee). The transaction of government business through the meetings and sessions of the Privy Council, as well as the proceedings of its various sub-committees, is coordinated by the Secretariat of the Imperial Chancellory, whose Minister is himself a member of the Privy Council.

Functions
As the leading executive council of the Laurasian Empire and the chief advisory body to the Laurasian Sovereign, the Imperial Privy Council is a important institution within the Imperial Government. The principal function of the Imperial Privy Council is to provide advice and information to the Sovereign about state affairs. That advice, however, is not binding upon the Sovereign and may be regarded or disregarded by them at will. However, some Sovereigns have heeded the advise of their ministers more so than others. Aurelia the Great, for example, always took her Council's advise into consideration, although many times she did not follow it. Lysimachus II follows a similar policy. The Council is also the leading body of government administration, being responsible for routine administrative matters, day-to-day supervision, and coordination among the Ministries of State and the Offices of State. In order to carry out these functions, the Council possesses the authority to issue Civil Service Orders, which provides regulations and procedures for the Imperial Administration. There are also Ministerial Instructions, issued by one or all of the Ministers of State, which provides direct commands to the administrations of the Imperial Ministries. These commands may be routine Council decisions, concerning matters of procedure or disputes within a government institution, or they may be the command passed down from the Sovereign, which takes utmost importance. Ministerial Instructions may also be issued by the Council as a whole to a particular Minister of State, instructing him to carry out a certain policy or certain Council decision as relating to his Ministry.

The Council executes the decrees and edicts of the monarch, ensuring their enforcement and using its Instructions to speed along their progress through the Governmental Administration. The Council also possesses the authority to override or modify any decision made by any lower government bureau or office. The Council also coordinates the compilation of legislation with the Imperial Chancellory, and arranges for additions to the Legal Code or the revision of judicial decisions by the monarch with the Governing Senate. It coordinates church regulations and matters with the Holy Synod. The Council is responsible for official Governmental Comminques and Proclamations, containing instructions to Governor-Generals, Provincial Governors, District Proconsuls, and other local officials, as well as to the population of the Empire. These are, however, within the limits set by the monarch. The Council may attach a Representative to each Governor-General, Provincial Governor, District Proconsul, and Solar Governor, who coordinates the sending of a report by that official and that official's communications with the Council.