Lein Imperial Councils

The term "Imperial Conference" (Itrani: Hakure ne-i-Taitere) or "Imperial Council" (Itrani: Dezukar ne-i-Taitere) is used within the Lein court to describe any conference held within the court where the Emperor himself, or someone holding a personal seal of authority and letter of recommendations from the Emperor, is in attendance. As can be expected these councils thus take myriad forms and can be organised into many groupings, from the grand Imperial Summoned Conference, to small, secret meetings.

Imperial Conference

While there is no clear-cut definition for what differentiates an Imperial Council from an Imperial Conference, the general agreement is that all meetings with the Emperor present, and which takes place within the Hall of Lasting Order, are considered Conferences. Another differentiating factor tends to be the size; Councils, taking place in rooms, may contain around ten men, but Conferences allow for hundreds to listen at the same time.

Summoned Conference

Main article: Summoned Conference (Lein)

A Summoned Conference refers to any Imperial conference where, besides the routine members of the government in attendance, other officials of relevant departments or regions are also called up to attend and present their views and information. Given the often large numbers of officials this summoning process tends to involve, as well as the large-scale disruptions to normal administrative matters, a Summoned Conference is mostly used as an emergency conference to discuss affairs of immense effect and weight, such as major natural disasters.

Imperial Conference

Main article: Imperial Conference (Lein)

An Imperial Conference is a routine meeting of important ministers and officials, presided by the Emperor, and normally held every two to five days (The requirement by law, as set by Emperor Athain, is at least once every seven days). The primary role of these meetings is for officials to present important reports, memoranda and requests or requirements to the Emperor, as well as to other ministers; other than events pertaining to the Emperor himself, however, these other requests and requirements bewteen ministries and agencies are simply noted down and sorted out between the relevant agencies after the conference.

Before every Conference, the Six Ministries and Inner Court are to submit the core issues for discussion; these issues are then sorted out by the Transcription Office and condensed for submission to the Emperor. Conferences can sometimes take an entire day, from sunrise to sunset, and involve tens of decisions. All minutes of these conferences are then taken down (and often committed to memory) by the secretary of the Transcription Office.

Imperial Council

Main article: Lein Imperial Council

If an issue happens to be too sensitive, secret or important to be discussed routinely in the Conferences, the official is then expected to submit a request for an Imperial Council. The Imperial Council comprises a small group of officials who gather to give necessary reports to the Emperor, and present highly important decisions for him; the work of organising such a small council is left up to the official, with the Emperor only approving to be present with a scribe, and woe betide the official who submits a council request without properly organising the meeting.