Discussions What were the Empire's actual -laws- about force sensitives/users? (As opposed to their practice)

Of course, we all know how harsh the Empire was on force users and any force sensitiveness. What I'm asking about is what the actual Imperial laws said, not what the Empire actually did. And what a "letter of the law" Imperial official would do if they come across a force user. As best as I can tell Order 66 was never repealed, but then it was only a military contingency order and as far as I can tell only applies to Imperial military, not "civilian" Imperial officials, although of course it declares the Jedi Order guilty of treason so they would be legally bound to deal with it, Also, it seems to only apply to members of the Jedi Order.proper, and a strict legal reading would exempt those who had left (or were kicked out) of the Jedi Order prior to the order's implantation. Of course the Empire would simply kill any Jedi found, but were there any laws against non-Jedi force users? Of course the Empire would send in the Inquisitors either way, but would a letter-of-the-law Imperial official report them if they were satisfied a person was a non-Jedi force user? What about untrained force-sensitives? Spirit-of-the-law is of course "maximum repression," and what would generally be expected.

For that matter, were there any laws regarding lightsabers? Obviously being found with one would result in a quick visit by either the ISB (if it's clear you're just collecting it), or the Inquisitors (if they think you might know how to use it), but would there actually be any laws enabling that, or was it extrajudicial with the complete approval (and expectation) of the entire Empire? Not that either the Inquisitors or ISB ever cared about what the Imperial legal code said or limits of their their authority were and simply did whatever they wanted.

Thanks.

 

Firstly it should be remembered that force users and force sensitives are extremely rare. There were around 10,000 jedi in a galaxy of quadrillions of people. Force sensitives(including many of who would never have qualified to join the order) probably are only a single order of magnitude more numerous.

In all likelihood there were no laws, that I recall anyway. The empire encouraged people to see the Jedi and the force as mythical. Obviously anyone who knew anything about the force or the Jedi would not have bought this, but so what? Just having a bit of preternatural luck or an occasional weird psionic trick is not worth imperial agents showing up and confiscating a child.

Obviously very powerful force users(or those that had obvious potential) that came to the empire’s attention would be taken. Mara seems to have been one such case-she was an imperial agent from early childhood if not infancy(Palpatine had to have known her family or had agents who did).

Actual Jedi hunting as you note was done by the imperial inquisition and lord Vader himself. But untrained force sensitives? Tbh 999 times out of a thousand they wouldn’t be worth the time spent investigating them. An untrained force sensitive might have a very successful career or might just be seen as a particularly effective gambler, athlete or charlatan. Which isn’t really worth an in depth pursuit because well there are lots of such people.

Repressing random 1 in a trillion people who can move pebbles with their minds isn’t really what the empire cared about.

Lightsabers are also very rare, the likelihood of a random person seeing one or having one in a private collection is infinitesimal. Anyone who did would either be very wealthy or very eccentric. Keeping ancient artifacts is hardly worth an imperial investigation by itself. I imagine if a random Jedi lightsaber was found by imperial authorities then it would have been confiscated. But the empire would not have gone out of its way to hunt for them.

Non Jedi force organizations seem to have been left alone, at least mostly. As they usually dwelled in remote areas and stuck to themselves.

It’s important to remember the Empire is not an Orwellian super state in terms of its surveillance capabilities. It just doesn’t have the reach at the local level. Imperial agents would have usually had more important concerns than investigating any claim of supernatural abilities by some local gambler or athlete or reports of strange laser swords in some eccentric socialite’s private archaeological collection.

If you mean actual written laws or policies followed or not-then we don’t know. There is no legends(or canon) source that details this to the best of my knowledge. (But then the EU never really detailed Republic or Imperial law or de jure policy in great detail).

 

Good point, although I'd like to mention that by the time of the PT, the 10,000 figures is after several centuries of slow decline. Around the time of The Knight of the Old Republic period I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few times of them against a far smaller galactic population.

That's possible. But from my reading of the Thrawn Trilogy (after years of being familiar with various RPG material) it seemed obvious to me that she was a bit older (I choose 7-8 a while back for a short story I wrote), but that Palpatine had simply erased her older memories the moment he got a hold of her. Being a little older would certainly make her discovery more likely without having been previously aware. (There was a story I wrote a while back, but it's not really up currently. She got discovered after what an Inquisitor or Jedi would instantly recognize as very good power in the force became the headline news item for a small city, probably made the planetary news as well, and a minor "page 6" news story might well have made it offworld.)

I would image that they're not going to go looking for it, but if you have a collection of Jedi stuff you'd be fine if you more or less kept it to yourself and those you know, but you probably might not to want that become common knowledge.
I would also imagine a random person pulling a lightsaber on you as an implied threat would be "like you know how to use that thing" if they have a blaster. There's also the scene from Allegiance where Mara, to convince somebody not to betray her, proves that she can use the force. The response was shock and "Vader. You're like Vader." And from the Thrawn Trilogy we know that when Mara while working random jobs started to get her force usage back in the past the response was anger, fear or hostility. Not incompatible, the difference between proof of skilled trained usage n the former and twitches of minor ability and her acute danger sense in the latter.

 

I am just reading DARK LORD- The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno and enjoy it.
I remembered your question and found a quote from Palpatine, the new emperor, talking to a small audience of "senators" about what he thinks will be "law" in the future.
Then I quote Palpatine again. He's telling Vader about Jedi who survived Order66.
Nothing about Force- Sensitives, but he doesn't seems to pay the latter much attention.

(excerpt from Dark Lord by James Luceno, chapter 17):
"You have my full assurance that I will not disband the Senate,"[...] "Furthermore, I don't want you to think of yourselves as mere accessories, ratifying legislation and facilitating the business of governing.
I will seek your counsel in enacting laws that will serve the growth and integrity of our Empire."[...]
"The difference now is that when I have taken into account your contributions and those of my advisers, my judgement will be final. There will be no debates, no citations of constitutional precedent, no power of veto, no court proceedings or deferrals.
My decrees will be issued simultaneously
to our constituent worlds, and they will take effect immediately."[...]
"Understand this: you no longer represent your homeworlds solely.[...]"

(excerpt from Dark Lord by James Luceno, chapter 19):
[...]"First, let me reiterate that the Jedi mean nothing to us. In having survived, Yoda and Obi-Wan aren't exceptions to the rule.
I'm certain dozens of Jedi escaped with their lives, and in due time you will have the pleasure of killing many of them.
But of greater import is the fact that their order has been crushed.
Finished, Lord Vader. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Master," Vader muttered.
"In burying their heads in the sands and snows of remote worlds, the surviving Jedis humble themselves before the Sith.
So let them: let them atone for one thousand years of arrogance and self-absorbtion."[...]


My conclusion - if one follows the EU, like I do in this case, there is no need for an inquisition
Never underestimate the power of the Emperor

 

Vader was motivated to hunt down the Jedi largely as a way to deal with his internal demons. Palpatine as you note really didn't give the role of Jedi hunting much importance.

 

Since I am still in the middle of the book, I noticed another crucial fact.
I do not want to copy another excerpt, which is why I will reproduce it in my own words.
The Emperor rethinks Vader as an apprentice after his failure on Mustafar. He wonders if Vader should have died. He comes to the conclusion that the search for a suitable new apprentice could cost him decades, and there was no alternative to saving Vader, because it always takes two Sith to unleash full power.

My own thoughts are that it is not in the Emperor's interest to destroy force-sensitives, as he must be given the option of finding a new apprentice again.

Only to maintain the order of his empire, the emperor would order the destruction in individual cases.

From Palpatine's point of view, the Inquisition only makes sense to me by testing potential future apprentices.

 

Rogue One showed The Empire tolerated Jedha and the Force superstitions for a time. But ultimately it was destroyed.

Palpatine said “every last Jedi, including your friend Obi-Wan Kenobi is now an enemy of the Republic.” Palpatine’s words implicate Jedi only, not Guardians of the Whills and other sects. Granted Palpatine said this prior to converting The Republic into The Galactic Empire, so its possible The Emperor added all Force Users are potential threats, though The Grand Inquisitor in Kenobi indicates they are only hunting Jedi in his speech.

By the time of ANH, the Jedi are considered extinct by Tarkin, “their fire has gone out in the galaxy, you are all that remains of their religion.”