The Shadow Proclamation was the galactic police force (mostly Judoon), concerned with upholding Galactic Law. Their base was situated on an asteroid, from which they planned their moves. For example, they once tried to convince the Doctor to lead them to the 27 lost planets, but the Doctor was unwilling to be part of another war and left them. The Shadow Proclamation initially dismissed the Doctor's claim to be a Time Lord, calling Time Lords nothing more than whispered myths of the Higher Races. (DW: The Stolen Earth).
It had several conventions and treaties, such as Convention 15, which deals with the end of hostile actions in order to parley. (TDA: Peacemaker)
It is possible that there is a law requiring pre-approval of auto-translators on the Shadow Proclamation base, as the Doctor and local authorities spoke at first without the TARDIS translating. (DW: The Stolen Earth)
Other Usages
- When Bubastion was tricked into murdering an innocent man in ancient Egypt, he was sealed in the body of a cat for failing to protect humanity, as per the Shadow Proclamation. The Doctor suggested reciting certain parts of the Proclamation would give him power over Bubastion. (IDW: Doctor Who #2)
- According to the Doctor, the breeding of Adipose children on Earth was a violation of the Proclamation since the "seeding" of Level 5 planets was prohibited. Miss Foster, the woman in charge of the breeding program, was concerned that the Doctor had alerted the Shadow Proclamation to her activities. (DW: Partners in Crime)
- Captain Jack's Monster Files referenced the Shadow Proclamation having arrested the Adipose First Family (who were behind the breeding program) and taken custody of the children.
- Upon discovering that aliens were at work in 1st century Pompeii, The Doctor demanded that the alien identify its place of origin and species designation "as set down by the Shadow Proclamation". (DW: The Fires of Pompeii)
- The Shadow Proclamation was also visited by the Doctor. He alerts them to the disappearance of Earth but they are already aware of its disappearance along with 23 other worlds. He is asked to lead the Shadow Proclamation into war against whoever is doing this. The Doctor didn't want to lead another war so he fled. (DW: The Stolen Earth)
Behind the Scenes
- According to the Doctor Who Commentaries on BBC 7, in original script of The Stolen Earth Shadow Proclamation was supposed to consist of many more different species of aliens, including the Raxacoricofallapatorians - but the scene was cut due to budget[1]
- Prior to The Stolen Earth, references to the Shadow Proclamation suggested it was a treaty or other such document, possibly related to the end of the Last Great Time War. (For examples, see Rose, The Fires of Pompeii, etc.) In The Stolen Earth it is established that the Shadow Proclamation is actually an organization. It can be both the name of a treaty or document as well as the organization that enforces it.
- It has been noted by people who have too much time on their hands that "The Shadow Proclamation" is an anagram of "Doctor Who has a time plan"