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For additional meanings of "Prime Directive", please see Prime Directive.
"Someday my people are going to come up with some sort of a doctrine, something that tells us what we can and can't do out here, should and shouldn't do. But until somebody tells me that they've drafted that ... directive ... I'm going to have to remind myself every day that we didn't come out here to play God."
– Jonathan Archer, 2151 ("Dear Doctor")

The Prime Directive, also known as Starfleet Command General Order 1, the Non-Interference Directive, or the principle of non-interference, was the embodiment of one of Starfleet's most important ethical principles: noninterference with other cultures and civilizations. At its core was the philosophical concept that covered personnel should refrain from interfering in the natural, unassisted, development of societies, even if such interference was well-intentioned.

The Prime Directive was viewed as so fundamental to Starfleet that officers swore to uphold the Prime Directive, even at the cost of their own life or the lives of their crew, though the literal application of this oath rarely if ever applied. Instead, the use and interpretation of the Prime Directive was flexible and varied considerably, depending on the discretion of the captain or commanding officer. (TOS: "Bread and Circuses", "A Piece of the Action"; DIS: "The Vulcan Hello"; TAS: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu", "Bem"; TNG: "Justice", "Symbiosis", "Who Watches The Watchers", "Redemption", "Homeward"; VOY: "Course: Oblivion"; Star Trek Into Darkness)

Text and structure

The text of General Order 1

The text of General Order 1

In 2383, the text of General Order 1 included:

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.
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. (PRO: "First Con-tact")

In summation, Section 1 deals with pre-warp civilization, specifically on contact; section 2 deals with warp civilization in a diplomatic manner.

The text of the first two sections of General Order 1 were taken from the reference book Star Trek: Federation - The First 150 Years (p. 108).

A complicated order, the Prime Directive had 47 sub-orders by the latter part of the 24th century. (VOY: "Infinite Regress")

The directive provided guidance on what constituted prohibited "interference" with a society, covering such matters as:

Captain Picard performs first contact diplomacy with the Malcorians (2367)

Captain Picard performs first contact diplomacy with the Malcorians (2367)

The Prime Directive also applied when Starfleet vessels made first contact with new species to establish formal diplomatic relations. Although introducing the concept of alien life would alter the trajectory of any civilization, the Prime Directive permitted initial contact with a species to occur if the civilization was advanced enough technologically, even if they had not yet developed warp drive. Sometimes, this would involve a small scouting mission with Starfleet representatives sent ahead to establish peaceful diplomatic relations with a few delegates or scientists of that planet, before formally revealing the existence of the Federation to the planet's greater society. In those circumstances, the Prime Directive required Starfleet members to take delicate care not to disrupt local culture or customs as they decided whether to join the galactic community. However, diplomatic gift exchanges were common and permitted within limits. (TNG: "First Contact")

History

By 1957, Vulcan High Command protocol reflected the principle of non-interference, prioritizing the avoidance of contaminating an alien culture over the lives of a crew. (ENT: "Carbon Creek")

In encountering the Akaali in 2151, Sub-Commander T'Pol reminded Captain Jonathan Archer that Vulcan protocol was to wait until a society had developed warp drive before initiating first contact, and that it would be wise for Starfleet to adopt the same. (ENT: "Civilization")

Later that year, Captain Archer and Doctor Phlox faced an ethical dilemma when Enterprise NX-01 encountered Valakis, and whether or not to interfere in the natural evolution of the Valakians over the Menk to cure an epidemic. In foreshadowing the Prime Directive, Archer commented that eventually Starfleet would have to "come up with some sort of a doctrine" establishing what Humans should and should not do while exploring space and interacting with other lifeforms. In the end, they decided that interfering with the natural evolutionary course of these two species would go against the "directive" upon which they based their entire mission: to meet new species and attempt peaceful communications, not to "play God". (ENT: "Dear Doctor")

Captain Archer further wrestled with "the fine line between doing what I think is right and interfering with other species" in dealings with the Vissians and the Gosis' species. (ENT: "The Communicator", "Cogenitor")

Starfleet's non-interference directive had not yet been established in 2168, when the Horizon encountered and contaminated Sigma Iotia II. (TOS: "A Piece of the Action")

In 2259, the Federation Council doubled down on enforcing General Order 1 after an incident on Kiley 279, labeling it the "Prime Directive." (SNW: "Strange New Worlds")

The directive remained in effect well into the 24th century and applied to at least Starfleet and Merchant Marine personnel, but specifically did not apply to ordinary Federation citizens. (TOS: "Bread and Circuses"; TNG: "Angel One") Despite this, it was occasionally described as a principle of the Federation or its people, and also space exploration. (TNG: "Symbiosis"; Star Trek: Insurrection; VOY: "Time and Again", "Prime Factors", "False Profits")

In 2371, the Sikarians had a similar policy preventing the sharing of certain technologies with the USS Voyager. (VOY: "Prime Factors")

In the 32nd century, following The Burn in 3069, the Emerald Chain flouted the Prime Directive when it made reckless first contact with species. (DIS: "The Sanctuary", "There Is A Tide...")

Reach and application

The Prime Directive primarily applied to societies that had little to no knowledge of other worlds and space-faring civilizations (as with certain pre-warp civilizations). (TOS: "Bread and Circuses"; TNG: "First Contact", "Who Watches The Watchers") But it also applied to the internal affairs of societies which knew extensively of other worlds (for example, interference in purely internal affairs by Starfleet was not permitted in the Klingon Civil War). Most Human colonies were excluded from its coverage altogether; but Human settlements established by aliens prior to official Human first contact were still covered, as they were regarded as pre-warp civilizations. (TNG: "The Masterpiece Society"; TOS: "The Paradise Syndrome"; DIS: "New Eden")

Some actions were clearly forbidden by the Prime Directive when it did apply to a society. Others were subject to interpretation, with commanding officers in Starfleet being given great discretionary powers regarding how and whether the Prime Directive would apply to specific situations. This promoted debate among command crews about whether the Prime Directive would (or should) apply, and how best to balance competing ethical priorities. (TOS: "The Return of the Archons", "The Apple", "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky", "A Private Little War"; TNG: "Conspiracy", "Justice", "Pen Pals", "Who Watches The Watchers"; DS9: "Captive Pursuit"; VOY: "Time and Again", "Prototype")

If a decision was made by the commanding officer that could potentially be a violation of the Prime Directive, the conclusions and rationale would need to be recorded and justified to Starfleet through the ship's or station's logs. (TNG: "Coming of Age")

Any action deemed to have violated the Prime Directive (including through claiming an unjustified exception or having a weak rationale regarding actions otherwise constituting a violation) could result in punishment ranging from a formal reprimand, a possible demotion of rank, or possible arrest and court martial. However, many violations by prominent Starfleet personnel were never formally punished, and discretion was left to commanding officers on the strictness of the Prime Directive's enforcement. (DS9: "Captive Pursuit"; VOY: "Thirty Days"; TOS: "Errand of Mercy", "The Omega Glory")

Inconsistencies, exceptions and violations

The Prime Directive, especially of Section 1, had exceptions and allowed for violations if satisfactory reasons were given. (TOS: "The Omega Glory")

Some examples of exception to Section 1 included:

Kirk points out that the people of Eminiar Seven have the right to decide if they want to be contacted and ignoring their code seven-ten message could trigger an interplanetary war. Kirk is overruled by Ambassador Fox.
The complexity of what was and was not exempt or a justifiable violation is shown when one compares interference by Picard in TNG: "Justice" to the interference by Jameson described in TNG: "Too Short A Season" or Kirk in TOS: "A Private Little War". Picard kept the violation to a minimum. Interestingly, Jameson did the exact same thing Kirk did by maintaining a balance of power. Kirk pointed out that this was "the trickiest, most difficult, dirtiest game of them all, but the only one that preserves both sides." The only real difference between Kirk and Jameson was the level of technology both sides were given.

Society that either had developed warp, or soon-to-warp, are exempted from Section 1 as per part D. Examples include:

In the case of TOS: "A Private Little War" it is unclear if this was really an exception or the Prime Directive didn't formally exist when Kirk made his recommendation thirteen years previously.

Nonetheless, Section 2 applies, even if they are consider as Enemy of Federation.

The Omega Directive was a classified Starfleet general order concerning the destruction of Omega molecules that was considered so important that it superceded the Prime Directive, and could result in its temporary suspension. (VOY: "The Omega Directive")

It was implied that General Order 24, permitting a starship captain to destroy the surface of an inhabited planet under certain circumstances, could supercede the Prime Directive. (TOS: "A Taste of Armageddon", "Whom Gods Destroy", "Operation -- Annihilate!")

Federation citizens did not need an exception as the Prime Directive did not apply to them. In fact, under the rules as defined in the Directive in the 24th century, a Starfleet crew was forbidden from forcibly removing Federation citizens from a world, even if they had intentionally and materially interfered with the culture of a world in a way that would otherwise have been prohibited by the Prime Directive. (TNG: "Angel One")

In the script of Star Trek one of the options for alternate scene c ("Questions to be spoken or represented graphically and answers to be dispersed to Vulcan children at directors discretion") is the question "What are the six recognized exceptions to the Prime Directive under Federation law?" with the instruction to leave unanswered. It is unclear if this scene actually appears in any version of the movie.

A Red Directive mission, which was a mission of utmost urgency and a level of secrecy that could supersede even the authority of Starfleet's commander in chief, may also supersede the Prime Directive as the USS Discovery didn't get into trouble for violating the Prime Directive while on a Red Directive mission. (DIS: "Whistlespeak")

Interference with societies unaware of other worlds

The Prime Directive was not mentioned in this episode, nor was non-interference discussed. However, Kirk's rescue of members of a civilization which had otherwise destroyed itself could be seen as a violation of the Prime Directive in that the natural course of the society's development was extinction. It is possible that the general distress call, the fact that the society no longer existed as a practical matter, and that the survivors were all children (albeit very old children) who were soon to starve, may have combined to provide an exception to the interference.
This episode contained the first mention of the Prime Directive in Star Trek. It also was the first instance of the Federation taking on the responsibility for mentoring an entire civilization's population post-interference.
The Prime Directive is not mentioned in the episode, despite the societal changes wrought by Kirk and the landing party. It is likely that the inadvertent interference, which occurred while trying to follow Starfleet orders, would have been considered excused behavior. The episode is also something of a contradiction regarding the Directive, because the Enterprise was present in system explicitly to prevent the asteroid collision in the first place.
Captain Merik was clearly not part of Starfleet, but was expressly identified as part of the "merchant service." In naval traditions a merchant service is an organization that is allied with the military, yet not formally part of it. This is what distinguishes Merik (as to whom Kirk consistently stated the Prime Directive applied), from the crew of the Odin (as to whom Data consistently stated the Prime Directive did not apply). The Odin, identified as a Federation freighter, was not part of the merchant service and therefore not allied with Starfleet in the same way for Prime Directive purposes.
Nikolai Rozhenko was not a member of Starfleet and so as a mere Federation citizen the Prime Directive should not have applied to his actions. However, Picard's log stated that Nikolai had "been stationed on the planet as a cultural observer." If Starfleet was the unnamed organization who had stationed him there, the implication would be that civilians working for Starfleet would also need to follow the Prime Directive. This would explain why Rozhenko, who went to great lengths to argue against the application of the Prime Directive, never raised his civilian status as a rationale for his actions. Regardless, Picard was in control of his ship's resources and their use, and he was within his rights to prevent their use if he believed that doing so was in contravention of the Prime Directive. The two other actions that interfered with the society – fathering a child (who would have, to the Boraalians, internal alien characteristics) and remaining to live with them without a memory wipe – may have been permitted actions of a citizen as these were not raised by anyone as Prime Directive violations. Regardless, Rozhenko was seemingly not to be prosecuted for his actions, whether due to his civilian status or other unspecified reasons.

Interference with societies aware of other worlds

This interference by Kirk in the societies of both Eminiar VII and Vendikar, not to mention the threat to totally destroy Eminiar VII, is difficult to reconcile with the Prime Directive. It is possible that the invocation of General Order 24 – tantamount to a declaration of war by the Federation – suspended the Prime Directive for a planet. Whether General Order 24 provided legal cover for this extraordinary interference in a society, what the circumstances were under which General Order 24 could be invoked, and whether some undisclosed circumstances existed which permitted this unusual display of aggressiveness and interference by Starfleet remain unknown. Also of note is that, as in "The Return of the Archons", the Federation left personnel (in this case Ambassador Robert Fox) to help the society with its transition following the significant interference.
It is not made clear why the Enterprise was permitted to visit Rubicun III at all. Aspects of the episode indicate that it is a first contact (e.g., Tasha Yar reviewing their laws) and that the Edo are technologically inferior to the Federation, including an apparent inability to achieve space flight. However, other aspects seem to imply that the Edo were aware of other worlds and peoples (e.g., a lack of significant surprise at obvious aliens beaming down; no express discussion of a first contact). The context of Picard's actions is therefore not fully known, although the general manner of the Enterprise's contact suggests that the Edo were already aware of other worlds even if they themselves were not space-faring.
While Sisko's actions would most likely have violated the Prime Directive under normal circumstances, he carried out this mission with Starfleet's blessings during time of war. As with TOS: "Errand of Mercy", when the Federation is at war there seem to be accepted exceptions to the Prime Directive. Sisko apparently faced no consequences whatsoever for his interference with Romulan internal matters.
The Resistance had been unable to get their copy of the Defiant fully operational and had no knowledge of how to use the ship to best effect. Sisko had both, and as a result the Resistance won where it arguably should have lost. The battle arguably marked a major turning point in the mirror universe's history and amounted to interference in the internal matters of that universe as a whole.
The Prime Directive was not mentioned in the episode. Regardless, this major interference in Klingon internal matters by a Starfleet officer, even one who claimed to be acting as a civilian (without, it must be noted, formally resigning his commission), would seem to be a violation of the Prime Directive. As with other seeming violations during wartime, it is possible that this interference was ultimately excused as being ancillary to following orders during the war effort.
Paris was never directly declared to have violated the Prime Directive. It is possible that his failure to destroy the oxygen refinery meant his actions did not rise to more than an "attempted" violation. In any event, Janeway's punishment would appear in line with a major infraction of an important law or regulation: Paris was held in confinement for a month and denied visitors, decent food, and access to entertainment.
Picard's rejection of Dougherty's rationale is similar to Captain Kirk's refusal a century earlier to accept Captain Tracey's argument for violating the Prime Directive on Omega IV. As with Dougherty, Tracey believed his interference to be justified by the potential to achieve widespread life-extension benefits throughout the Federation. TOS: "The Omega Glory" In neither case was the potential for benefits to life in the Federation seen as a justification by either Kirk or Picard for the proposed societal interference. Also, Picard's refusal to obey what he viewed as invalid orders has a long history. The Nuremberg Trials helped establish the obligation of military personnel to question and, if appropriate, disregard seemingly improper orders. This prevents the simple defense of "I was only following orders" when an action otherwise viewed as unethical or a war crime – or a violation of the Prime Directive – is the natural result. After Data disobeyed direct orders in order to immediately act on a careful analysis that was time sensitive in TNG: "Redemption II", Picard commended him and noted so in Data's records, saying that Starfleet was not interested in officers who blindly follow orders.

Other notable matters

Sisko walked a very fine line concerning the Prime Directive during the entire course of his command of Deep Space 9, the line becoming thinner over the years as he increasingly embraced his role as "Emissary". His influence over Bajor was so great that they backed out of Federation membership at the very last moment on his advice. (DS9: "Rapture")

Attitudes toward the Prime Directive

"The Prime Directive is not a matter of degree. It is an absolute."
– Worf, 2365 ("Pen Pals")
"Well, I refuse to be bound by an abstraction. The lives of the people of Boraal are far more important to me."
– Nikolai Rozhenko, 2370 ("Homeward")
"This is how it begins. All it takes is for one impressionable youngster to join Starfleet, and the next thing you know, a whole generation of Ferengi will be quoting the Prime Directive and abandoning the pursuit of latinum. It's the end of Ferengi civilization as we know it and it's all your fault."
– Quark, 2371 ("Family Business")
"I don't always love the constraints of the Prime Directive, but your little toy totally ignored it."
"Oh, stop. This is a rounding error!"
"One that proves the Texas-class isn't fit for duty."
– Carol Freeman and Les Buenamigo, 2381 ("The Stars At Night")

Starfleet as an organization had the greatest respect for and required compliance with the Prime Directive. (TOS: "The Omega Glory", "Bread and Circuses") But not all Federation citizens, or even all Starfleet personnel, believed that strict adherence to the Prime Directive under every circumstance was in the best interests of the civilizations it was designed to protect. Starfleet captains themselves had very different personal tolerances for the degree of flexibility to be applied to the Prime Directive. Captain James T. Kirk noted that the Prime Directive was intended to apply only to living, growing civilizations and felt it was appropriate to interfere where societies had been enslaved, were in a state of total stagnation (also known as an arrested culture), or even in mortal danger. (Star Trek Into Darkness; TOS: "Errand of Mercy", "The Return of the Archons", "The Apple") Captain Kirk also at least twice attempted to interfere in the internal affairs of a civilization when he believed that higher ethics compelled or justified such actions. (TOS: "Mirror, Mirror", "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky")

Kirk's predecessor Captain Christopher Pike occasionally interfered in a civilization's development if he felt the circumstances were extreme enough. Examples of him doing so include the Kiley, a civilization which was in danger of destroying itself as a result of accidental prior interference, and the Kalar, a civilization which he realized had completely stagnated due to generations of widespread amnesia caused by radiation from a crashed asteroid. In the former case, he felt so duty-bound to save the Kiley from themselves that he openly stated "Screw General Order 1". In the latter case, Pike was able to justify his actions as fixing their evolutionary process which had been stagnated through other outside interference, something that Spock conceded was a logical argument for intervention that did not violate the Prime Directive. (SNW: "Strange New Worlds", "Among the Lotus Eaters")

Both Captains Picard and Janeway were prepared to watch whole societies perish from natural causes rather than interfere – even when others were seeking to prevail upon them that Starfleet's role should permit actively saving societies rather than passively watching them die. (TNG: "Homeward", "Pen Pals"; VOY: "Time and Again") This range of conduct could even be found within a single individual: Captain Janeway once opined that 23rd century Starfleet officers such as Kirk were "a little slower to invoke the Prime Directive," but she herself admitted to having "bent it on occasion" during her travels in the Delta Quadrant. (VOY: "Flashback", "Equinox") However, Janeway was a bit more lenient in later years, refusing to intervene directly in the Vau N'Akat Civil War, but agreeing to give Ilthuran political asylum and sending a team made up of non-Starfleet personnel to Solum, although she made it clear that Starfleet would disavow their actions if the team were to be caught. After the team was caught, Janeway instead personally led a rescue mission for them and, having been reminded that "boldness isn't only for the young," agreed to help stop the planet's tyrannical ruler, an act that directly violated the Prime Directive as Solum wasn't a Federation world nor had the Federation made official first contact yet. (PRO: "Brink", "Touch of Grey", "Ouroboros, Part I")

Shortly after coming aboard the Enterprise, Spock asked Number One if she had ever considered that the Prime Directive was not only unethical, but also illogical and perhaps morally indefensible. Chin-Riley quickly shut down this line of questioning by saying she had not, and for the sake of his sanity nor should Spock. (ST: "Q&A")

Appendices

Background information

The Star Trek Encyclopedia, 4th ed., vol. 2, p. 180 has a picture of a prop made for Admiral Christopher Pike's office in Star Trek Into Darkness. This prop has text for the first three Starfleet General Orders. General Order #1's text is as follows:

As the rights of each sentient species to live in accordance with the normal cultural evolution is considered sacred, no Starfleet personnel may interfere with the normal and healthy development of alien life and culture.
Such interference includes introducing superior knowledge, strength, or technology to a world whose society is incapable of handling such advantages wisely.
Starfleet personnel may not violate the Prime Directive even to save their lives and/or their ship, unless they are acting to right an earlier violation or an accidental contamination of said culture. This directive takes precedence over any and all other considerations, and carries with it the highest moral obligation.

This phrasing of General Order One has its origins in the FASA Star Trek Role-Playing Game (The Federation sourcebook, p. 5). The text was slightly edited by the individual who made the prop for the film.

One of the TNG writers commented "who cares about Prime Directive issues?" (Cinefantastique, volume 24, issue 1, page 30)

Apocrypha

Kirk denies having ever violated the Prime Directive (DC Comics)

Kirk denies having ever violated the Prime Directive (DC Comics)

The above references conflict with the episode TOS: "Court Martial", in which it was stated that no starship captain had ever faced general court-martial before, or imply that the above mentioned captains were in command of smaller vessels.

External links