Date: In force by 2769

The Temporal Accords are binding interstellar laws governing the use of time travel, enacted after centuries of catastrophic temporal interference nearly unraveled known history. They were ratified following the end of the Temporal Cold War, a covert, multi-era conflict in which factions from different futures repeatedly altered past events to gain political and military advantage. Under the Accords, all deliberate manipulation of the timeline is prohibited. This includes temporal incursions, paradox engineering, historical interference, and the deployment of temporal weapons. Entire branches of research were dismantled or sealed, and civilizations possessing advanced temporal technology agreed to strict self-regulation. Violations are considered crimes not merely against governments, but against spacetime itself. Enforcement and oversight fall to specialized agencies such as Temporal Investigations, whose mandate is to detect alterations, restore the prime timeline when possible, and contain temporal contamination. Most citizens of the galaxy are unaware of the Accords’ full scope, as knowledge of temporal mechanics is tightly restricted to prevent causal instability. By the 29th to 32nd centuries, the Accords had become foundational law, shaping Starfleet policy and galactic governance.