Judicial Department

The Judicial Department (sometimes called the Judiciary or the Judiciary Department) was the primary law enforcement agency for the Galactic Republic. Under the command of the Galactic Senate, it became a department of the Office of the Supreme Chancellor during the last decades of the Republic. Though the Judicials of the department, in general, served as law enforcement and later also as military forces, the department had specific agencies to provide police services. This included the Republic Office of Criminal Investigations (ROCI), the Sector Rangers (officially under the ROCI), the Republic Security Force, and the Senate Guard. The ROCI was in charge of coordinating Republic criminal investigations and managed the Sector Rangers, one of the earliest law enforcement agencies in Republic service. The Republic Security Force was composed of uniformed police officers called Republic Peace Officers. It provided basic law enforcement services to Republic worlds including emergency response, traffic control, apprehending criminals and conducting raids. Though officially a part of the Judicial Department, the Senate Guard mostly acted independently.

After the Ruusan Reformation the department was drastically reorganized, and its responsibilities were expanded. Notably, the Judicial Department was placed in charge of supervising the Jedi Order. Also, the remaining forces of the Army of Light were reorganized as the Judicial Forces, the only form of a standing military the Republic would have for the next thousand years. With the coming of the Clone Wars between the Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Judicial Forces' navy and ground units were merged into the re-established Republic Navy and Grand Army of the Republic, respectively. The Jedi Order similarly became a part of the military command structure. With these changes, the Judicial Department focused solely on law enforcement duties until it was dissolved with the formation of the Galactic Empire.

Text and facts from the “Judicial Department/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.