Jedi Military Generals--A Violation of the Jedi Code?

Of all the ways to describe the Jedi, they are mostly commonly referred to as "Guardians of Peace and Justice in the Galaxy." Their primary mission over their 20,000+ year history has been to follow the will of the Force and devote themselves to the Light.  During the time of the Republic, in accordance with their purpose as peacekeepers, they aligned themselves with the Galactic Senate to engage in diplomacy and help bring dangerous criminals to justice.  The Jedi thus served the Republic, but held no authority.  They acted to preserve the Republic, its laws and ideals, and to help protect the citizenry. Through everything, the Jedi maintain adherence to the Jedi Code, which consists of 5 tenets:

- There is no emotion, there is peace.

-There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

- There is no passion, there is serenity.

- There is no chaos, there is harmony.

- There is no death, there is the Force.

While the Jedi Code has remained constant, the onset of the Clone Wars dramatically changed the Jedi's responsibilities and duties.  Under the Jedi Military Integration Act (JMIA) in 22 BBY, Jedi Masters and Knights were given the title of Jedi General and Padwans were titled Jedi Commander, with responsibility for commanding the Grand Army of the Republic.

This raises a number of fairly existential legal and moral questions as it relates to the Order--if they are meant to be peacekeepers, how can they wage war and command an army?  Further, war is by its very definition, chaos--how can there be harmony while engaging in chaos? And most importantly, how can Jedi honor life when engaging in warfare, with so many innocent lives in flux?

From a purely legal standpoint, did the Jedi Council violate the Jedi Code when agreeing to be a party to the JMIA.  And as an important corollary, did those Jedi who refused to partake in military responsibilities violate a legal order, or correctly refuse to follow an illegal order? 

Significant discretion is afforded to the Jedi Council and members of the Order in courts of law, especially when acting in their official capacity in service to the Force, and to a lesser extent, the Republic.  With that, the rights of individual Jedi who had issues with the JMIA should be afforded proper representation.


MAY THE LAW BE WITH YOU!





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