Council of Nine

From ROI Wiki

The Council of Nine is a group of nine representatives, one each from The Nine Ancient Races, who live on Sebius and work as mediators of major disputes between members of the Nine. Their goal is to find ways to keep the peace between the Nine at all costs. So, any major dispute between one of the Nine Ancient Races, which can't be worked out directly between the races, is to be brought before the council and hashed out. And, whatever the decision of the council is, the disputing parties are required to agree to, and abide by all their decisions, according to the peace treaty they all live and operate under. The council also has special punitive powers, backed by the UGW, and the Nine Races themselves, for any party within one of the races, or even an entire race itself, should it go against the ruling of the council.

Only by a majority ruling of the Nine, with seven of the nine races voting in favor, can a council ruling be overturned. However, such overrulings are rare, and such power has only been exercised a handful of times throughout history since it's founding. Members of the Council of Nine hold their seat at the pleasure of their respective race, and may be replaced at any time. Thus they hold office on the council only for as long as they choose to. Council members are also encouraged to deal fairly with everyone who comes before them, even those who oppose their race, or their side of the argument, as fairness, and judicial integrity, are upheld in the highest of honor. Therefore, if the right thing to do is to vote against ones own people, they are asked to do so, such that the right thing is always done. IE, they are strong encouraged to always vote in whatever way that benefits the whole, rather than one race above another.