The Sooni Council was formed out of a need for a formalized decision make body as the Sooni expanded their empire. The body consists of 300-500 of the most influential Sooni among their race. While not all decisions are made by the council, they have the final say in all matters. They will hear appeals, however, once the council had ruled on an issue, it is as if the Overseers themselves had given the command. On very rare occasions the council has reversed a decision, and under those circumstances it's as if the original decision had never been made.
Simply called "Council Members", "councilmen", or "councilwomen", members of the Sooni Council serve a life-term, unless censured and removed. They are seen as wielding a great deal of power, however, they only have a single vote so true power in the council involves being able to convince a large number of members to vote how you wish.
In order to become a member of the Sooni Council, you must first petition the Council. Once they've agreed to hear your petition, you must address the entire council and make a case for why you are influential enough to deserve a seat on the council. "Influence" can be of any form; military leaders, politicians, educators... anyone who 'shapes the will of the Sooni people' can be admitted.
If a council member is found to have lost their influence, committed a crime, or otherwise violated the will of the council, they may be censured. Typically, censure removed their ability to vote for some specified amount of time; they may still listen to debates and speak on the floor, they just can't cast a final vote.
Sometimes, however, the censure can involve permanent removal from the council. This is considered a grave punishment as the person removed will become a social pariah, with it being believed that the Overseers have forsaken them.
The "Speaker" is the one who runs the Council. They hold votes, they enforce time limits on speeches, they bring other business items to the group. They are considered the "leader" of the Sooni people, though the position has significantly less influence than one would typically expect, as their only control is on when something may or may not come to a vote.
The Council fills the same role as both an executive branch, a legislative branch and a judicial branch, in that they have final say in all matters brought before them. Bringing a matter to the council is a double edged sword. If you win, it's now law and cannot be ignored. If you lose, however, your loss is now etched in stone.
All votes are majority rules. A vote may be asked for at any time while an item is open for debate, and if a third of the council agrees, the rest of the debate is skipped.
Anyone can bring a petition to the Council as long as a single member is willing to grant the petitioner 'standing'. (Magistrates, military leaders, and other government officials are considered to already hve standing.)
When a petition is brought before the council, the issue is presented by the petitioner. Then, any interested/related parties may present their side. After that, normal debate is opened, and finally a vote will be held. Any member may call for a refusal of the petition at any time; refused petitions are treated as if the council declined to hear the petition in the first place. (Refusal votes are a simple majority.)
While there is no official recognition of political groups, there are several unofficial groups that tend to vote together. Forming alliances or special interest groups are the only way to really wield power in the Council.
The two largest political groups are the Heretics and the Zealots. Neither group's members will admit to being members, but these two groups have been fighting back and forth with each other since before the formation of the heretics; most members who consider themselves heretics today were once simple moderates that disagreed with zealot policies, or their spreading influence.