Editing Prime Directive (section)

==The Prime Directive==
The Prime Directive is one of many guidelines for [[Starfleet]]'s mandate to explore the galaxy and "seek out new life and new civilizations." Although the concept of the Prime Directive has been alluded to and paraphrased by many ''Star Trek'' characters during the television series and feature films, the text of the directive was only revealed to viewers in 2021 during the ''[[Star Trek: Prodigy]]'' episode "First Con-Tact" set in 2383. Two sections of the text were shown, and are as follows:

<blockquote>Section 1:
Starfleet crew will obey the following with any civilization that has not achieved a commensurate level of technological and/or societal development as described in Appendix 1.

a) No identification of self or mission.

b) No interference with the social, cultural, or technological development of said planet.

c) No reference to space, other worlds, or advanced civilizations.

d) The exception to this is if said society has already been exposed to the concepts listed herein. However, in that instance, section 2 applies.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Section 2:
If said species has achieved the commensurate level of technological and/or societal development as described in Appendix 1, or has been exposed to the concepts listed in section 1, no Starfleet crew person will engage with said society or species without first gathering extensive information on the specific traditions, laws, and culture of that species civilization. Then Starfleet crew will obey the following.

a) If engaged with diplomatic relations with said culture, will stay within the confines of said culture's restrictions.

b) No interference with the social development of said planet.</blockquote>

The Prime Directive was frequently applied to less developed planets which had not yet discovered [[Technology in Star Trek|warp travel]] or [[Subspace (Star Trek)|subspace]] communication technology. The Prime Directive was also sometimes applied to advanced civilizations that already knew of life on other worlds but were protected by empires outside the Federation's jurisdiction. [[First contact (science fiction)|First contact]] could be made by the Federation with alien worlds that had either discovered warp or were on the verge of it, or with highly advanced civilizations that simply hadn't ventured into space yet. In those cases, the Prime Directive was used as a general policy to not disrupt or interfere with their culture when establishing peaceful diplomatic relations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Porto |first1=Chad |title=10 Weirdest Laws In The Star Trek Universe |url=https://redshirtsalwaysdie.com/2021/05/30/10-weirdest-laws-star-trek-universe/ |website=Redshirts Always Die |date=30 May 2021 |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>

Consequences for violating the Prime Directive could range from a stern reprimand to a demotion, depending on the severity of the infraction. However, enforcement of these rules -- and interpretations of the Prime Directive itself -- varied greatly and were at the discretion of the commanding officer. In many instances, prominent Starfleet personnel like captains [[James T. Kirk]], [[Jean-Luc Picard]], [[Kathryn Janeway]] and [[Benjamin Sisko]] willingly broke the Prime Directive but faced no real punishment or consequence for doing so.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beauvais |first1=Julian |title=Star Trek: The Worst Violations Of The Prime Directive, Ranked |url=https://screenrant.com/star-trek-prime-directive-violations-starfleet/ |website=ScreenRant |date=4 March 2021 |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>

However, the Prime Directive is not absolute. Starship captains have been known to violate it to protect their ships and crews, and certain [[Starfleet]] regulations such as [[The Omega Directive]] can even render it null and void in certain circumstances.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}