Colonial system

After the First Interstellar War, multi-system corporations (interstellars) generally gave up the expensive and risky practice of colonizing and claiming planetary systems. Instead, they established the colonial system, a contractual arrangement between an interstellar (or other source of financing) and a private colonization effort that includes any combination of the following terms:

 The Interstellar :
 * Provides survey information on a viable frontier world.
 * Provides transportation to the target world.
 * Provides colonization equipment, which may include equipment for habitation, exploration, exploitation, or security.
 * Provides contracted security personnel or equipment.
 * Provides skilled personnel and oversight.
 * Provides employment or bonuses for the performance of tasks.
 * Provides credits for the purchase of expedition supplies.

 The Colonists  Certain forms of indenture are legal, however the indenture must not extend to future generations, and cannot cross the line into slavery, whether through use of violence to enforce contractual terms or cybernetic or biological modification of the colonists to prevent them from ending their contract or leaving the environment.
 * Repay the loan in credits or goods, with interest.
 * Conduct further exploration and surveys, under non-disclosure agreements for use or resale by the financier.
 * Perform services as contracted.
 * Cede land, lease, or mineral or biological exploitation rights in perpetuity or for a defined period.

The requirements to claim a planetary system are established by the Federal Treaty on the Exploration and Use of Outer Space and can be summarized as follows:


 * The claimant must represent the largest human population in the system (or be uncontested by the largest human population's representatives).
 * The claimant must declare their intent to govern.
 * The claimant must demonstrate their ability to govern within a reasonable delay, usually by the proclamation of a colonial charter.
 * While not written into the Treaty, there is an unwritten requirement to be able and willing to defend the claim from military or political infringement.