On the surface, Star Trek`s laws give the show, characters, and audience a basic rule structure so you know when and how those rules will be reviewed and for what purpose punishment will be imposed for violation. Unfortunately, it is not always clear or consistent how these rules are applied or whether one of the people caught in the act of violating is being treated. To put it as simply as possible, the Prime Time Directive prohibits Starfleet personnel from interfering with historical events, but also requires them to prevent historical changes. Janeway repeatedly violated this policy, and it has been suggested that Picard did the same. Let`s not even start with Sisko; The actual time that the police had to examine him for what he shot. There is, of course, James Kirk and his constant breach of the directive is part of its general character. Jonathan Archer spoke in Enterprise about the need for such a doctrine and Benjamin Sisko did not directly violate it, but he broke or moved the boundaries of several other laws on TrekCulture`s list of the 10 strangest laws in the Star Trek universe. In our list, we`ve sifted through countless general regulations, regulations, protocols, charter articles, procedures, policies, guidelines, and even some general federal laws to provide you with the strictest (and weirdest) rules. With those that don`t seem to interest anyone.
While not a specific rule, there are several regulations related to the law, and it`s both reasonable and scary (especially because it shows the power and precision a spacecraft is capable of). The most interesting thing about this set of rules is how morally gray they are. One of the strictest laws developed within Starfleet was the abolition of the death penalty. Even on our planet today, centuries before the events of Star Trek were supposed to take place, there is a constant political debate on the subject. The biggest problem with laws in Star Trek, and something related to video, is the rarity with which they are implemented, enforced or even enforced. They are largely a non-factor, unless the action requires it. Now we come to the rules, which are being broken at an absurdly high rate, that Starfleet had better remove them from the books. We`ve known from the beginning of the franchise that a captain leading an outside mission is a big non-go, but the problem goes even further.
Many of the laws referenced in “Star Trek” are pretty normal — murder is still generally bad in the 24th century — but some will undoubtedly make you think. Buried deep in Starfleet manuals are regulations designed to govern personnel privacy, requiring certain ships to self-destruct, and sometimes even giving captains the ability to sacrifice crew members and blow up entire planets. Even time travel is involved. These are some of the most bizarre laws explained in the “Star Trek” universe. It`s a pretty wild rule, but it`s much less surprising when you consider the right context. If the entire crew of a Starfleet ship dies or leaves the ship, the computer begins an automatic self-destruct after 24 hours of lifelessness. With a huge fleet of spaceships and countless members recruited, Starfleet and its mission to boldly go where no human has gone before” is one of the most recognizable elements of the series and one of the most important organizations in the universe. However, like all large organizations, Starfleet is filled with many strange rules. And as with all large organizations, there are many rules that are constantly broken.
A discussion on this topic by Paul Joseph and Sharon Carton in the University of Toledo Law Review explores how this fictional set of laws deals with controversial issues in U.S. law, such as the right to life and privacy, and the law`s response to sexual orientation. [2] The details and application of these laws, as well as how they reflect real-world legal systems, are explored in more detail in Bryan Horrigan`s Adventures in Law and Justice: Exploring Big Legal Issues in Everyday Life and Star Trek Visions of Law and Justice by Robert Chaires and Bradley Chilton. The first examines the possibility of applying a comparison between law and part of popular culture to the doctrine of national and international law. Maybe the life of a Starfleet officer isn`t for you. After all, it`s reminiscent of real armed forces, where you leave years of your life to a military or quasi-military force and all its rules. As a civilian, you won`t see much adventure among the stars, of course, but at least there`s no good guy in uniform telling you what to do, right? According to Starfleet General Order 6, if all life on a spaceship has perished, then that spacecraft should self-destruct 24 hours after the end of all life on board. The theme appears in “Star Trek: The Animated Series” in the Season 2 episode “Albatross”. Listen, space is terrifying. It`s not much better when it`s full of menacing aliens looking to take control of your mighty spaceship or strategic border outpost.
Everyone flies, shoots each other and fights for every cubic inch of space. But one of the supposed characteristics of the Federation is how much its employees like to play by the rules. There are regulations and orders galore that seem to elevate Starfleet above the others by showing what a bunch of goody-two-shoes the whole group is. In the fictional Star Trek universe, Prime Directive (also known as “Starfleet General Order 1”, “General Order 1”, and “Non-Interference Directive”) is a guiding principle of Starfleet that prohibits its members from interfering with the natural development of extraterrestrial civilizations. [1] It protects unprepared civilizations from the danger of spacecraft crews introducing advanced technologies, knowledge, and values before they are ready. Since its introduction in the first season of the original Star Trek series, the directive has been included in many Star Trek episodes as part of a moral question about how best to establish diplomatic relations with new alien worlds.[2] The Omega policy can prevail over the higher policy. It`s a strange tactical arrangement, and while we can understand why, it also raises a flood of questions. Simply put, when multiple spaceships are involved in the battle and the fleet leader is unable or destroyed, the next senior officer is not necessarily the next senior officer who can take command. Time travel is one of the most widely used concepts in Star Trek.
It was in almost every series at least once, and even in feature films. Given the dangerous side effects of time travel, strict laws are only logical. It`s a shame no one follows them. The main policy has been criticized in the universe because of the inconsistencies in which it is applied. In the TOS episodes “Friday`s Child”, “For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky”, “The Cloud Minders”, “The Apple”, “The Return of the Archons”, “Space Seed” and “A Taste of Armageddon”, the Enterprise crew interferes with the laws or customs of alien worlds or colonizes an alien planet to achieve a Federation goal. to save the lives of the crew or improve the lives of the inhabitants. [14] Things in the Federation are not perfect, but they are certainly much better than in the previous era. Virtually everyone in the Federation and under Starfleet jurisdiction is well fed, decently dressed and never has to worry about accommodation. Most species get along decently, and interplanetary travel is a daily wonder. No one has to worry about losing their mind. The Star Trek universe has very good rules.
You might think this is just a clever trick Kirk uses to get out of a difficult situation. It would never really wipe out a planet, would it? But then, as Memory Alpha says, he was also given away by another captain on another planet, although apparently he was never executed. Too bad you live in the Federation, buddy. Sometimes government forces may decide to invoke Article 21, Section 6, paragraph 4. According to Memory Beta, this rule states that the safety of the Federation can sometimes take precedence over the rights of its citizens. Now that Memory Beta covers works that are not strictly canon, you should reject this thought. Nevertheless, there is “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and its two parts of season 4, “Homefront” and “Paradise Lost”. In these episodes, as Tor notes, the threat of an alien invasion causes Starfleet to place Earth under martial law in a short period of time, with the implication that annoying things like civil liberties could be shelved. In the TNG episode “A Matter of Time,” Picard compares the Prime Directive to a possible Time Prime Directive: Well, we`re not here to engage in any cultural shame, especially when it comes to mentally and physically imposing Vulcans.
But surely you have to admit that for a species so famous for its logical lifestyle, its marriage rules and regulations make very little sense. All of this is quite catastrophic, to say the least. But Starfleet`s response to the molecule is probably exaggerated. According to Memory Alpha, the so-called “Omega Directive” gives captains top-secret orders to destroy the molecule whenever and wherever they encounter it, by any means necessary.
