Hello all,

As we are having increasing instances of friends and family joining the Brotherhood once more, it is becoming increasingly apparent that we need a quick refresher on the Nepotism Policy. Let's jump into it.

Table of Contents

• Refresh on Nepotism Policy
• Important Links

Refresh on Nepotism Policy

While I will link to the Nepotism Policy itself, I want to do a quick rule-by-rule breakdown.

• Nepotism is not permitted in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood.

This one seems pretty straightforward, so we're not going to dwell on it. The Brotherhood wants to allow everyone an equal opportunity at the fundamental level to attain positions and awards. That does not mean everyone stands equal at all times, just that we all have the same starting point. The choices and actions we make will influence the opportunities we receive.

• To discourage nepotism, no members with real life family ties or that are within a relationship may be within the same chain of command without explicit permission from the Justicar.

Being related or romantic with a member of the Brotherhood will not exclude you from sitting in a position. That said, if it lies in the same chain of command (ie. Clan-House summit) then the Justicar must provide the system approval for this appointment. This discouragement is to prevent any nepotism from occurring to begin with by eliminating the opportunity for it. That said, if a member is proven to be the best fit for a position and the Justicar finds no nepotism in the appointment, it can still be approved. But still, try to avoid it. Best not to invite the potential.

• Any member that enters into a relationship with a subordinate (or superior) within the same chain of command must immediately report such relationship to the Justicar and Grand Master to ensure that this policy is being followed. Failure to report the relationship within thirty days will result in a mandatory loss of position for both members and may result in prosecution by the Chamber of Justice.

You're all doing this, so not much to say here. It's good to see those letting us know and not just being caught via IP or other means. That said, failure to disclose is a big deal. We rely on a system of trust in this club and breaking that trust can have far reaching implications.

• No Dark Councilor (including Tribunes and quasi-Dark Council positions like Combat Master) is permitted to have on staff any member of his or her family, or any person with whom he or she is in a relationship with, unless explicitly approved by the Justicar.

This is the same as above (with the chain of command discouragement) but a more hardline stance. It will be much harder to get this approved by the Justicar than in other chases. For one, there's far less oversight in terms of the interactions between the member and the Dark Councilor than in a more formalized chain of command like unit-level leadership. That means fewer eyes on. It becomes harder to prove that nepotism isn't in play. With nepotism, you don't want anything in question. The more clear the activity is, the better.

• Any member is permitted to recommend promotions or medals for another member, even if that person is a family member or in a relationship. However, the recommending member cannot be the primary or sole recommendation for that award or promotion for the family member or significant other. Any recommendation submitted to the Master At Arms must disclose the relationship. Failure to disclose the relationship may result in a loss of position for the recommending member, or the future ban against recommendations by that member.

This is the big one and the one that will most often come up. If you are in a relationship of any kind with a member, that is to say you are familial or romantic, you can not be the primary/sole recommendation for any awards or promotions for that member. You are absolutely allowed to append a recommendation, but you must run the process through another member. This is to ensure multiple perspectives and prevent even the appearance of nepotism. That means you have to communicate. As we know, some awards and promotions are locked to certain positions. If you are the top-level leader in your chain of command and can't coordinate with another leader in that CoC to get it submitted, reach out to the MAA and they will work with you to ensure that the policy is followed as per the rules outlined.

There's not much else to say, except that this policy is here to protect us all. Ensure you're following it, and no one can ever question the merits of the members in question. That's a good thing.

Important Links

• The Covenant
• Dark Brotherhood Chat Policies
• Policies Category

Thank you for reading and remember: any questions relating to Brotherhood policies and the Covenant, or you just want to chat about any concerns, feel free to reach out by email ([Log in to view e-mail addresses]) or hit me up on Discord.