Dragons loves jewellery, they shaping of precious produce a lovely resonance for dragons (see Gems) and many dragons are in constant competition to acquire the most skilled jewelers (or at least their services) to produce the finest jewelry of the most valuable or most exotic materials. At the various gatherings of the dragon, they show off their recent acquisitions and offer each other challenges for specific designs or materials to be used for next year or next decade. The Empress encourages such, and rewards the victor of such challenges through recognition and awards of status, as a way of channeling the natural competitive nature of dragonkine away from violence; though it does not stop violence being involved in the acquisition of materials and craftspeople, though usually by agents and mercenaries rather than anything that would risk a full scale war between Draconic Houses.
The Imperial Judiciary is overseen by the Judge, who gathers and codifies all of the Imperial Laws, it is less known that his agents gather copies of all of the laws passed by all of the polities in the Sea of Stars. The Judge obsessively analyzes and compares, seeking the perfect blend of brevity and legal clarity, though the laws are not updated more than once every half century. After all, part of the value of the law is predictability and understanding what is expect of one under the law.
The Imperial Laws are the highest laws in the Sea of Stars and override the laws of the polities that comprise the Empire. However, the Empress almost never uses this fact against her subject, and especially not against the Draconic Houses, she understand how important the perception of control is to her fellow dragons. Though sometimes when she wishes something done, she will send a polite reminder of how Imperial Law could be enforced as a spur to getting the result that she seeks. But the only Imperial Laws that are ruthlessly and routinely enforced are those that comprise the tax code, the Empress will have her share, without fail.
Notes: Just some ideas for unusual situation and quests that could be used to spur adventure. More on the Imperial Judiciary here.
Photo The Scales of Justice are not even anymore, Creator Sheba_Also 43,000 photos, License CC by-sa 2.0
Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal 