The Gotei 13 (goteijūsantai; lit. "13 Division Imperial Guard," or "13 Court Guard Squads" in the English version) is a military order of psychopomps, referred to as soul reapers, based in a remote section of Soul Society called Seireitei (lit. "Court of Pure Souls"). As its name implies, the Gotei 13 is divided into thirteen divisions, each autonomous of one another, and having a ranked hierarchical structure, ranging from captain and lieutenant down to seated officers and then unranked personnel, respectively. Since each division is independent of one another, captains can run their respective divisions the way they see fit. Moreover, they have the liberty of completely revising their agendas if need be and even create their own separate organization. The Gotei 13 has proved itself on some occasions to lack cooperation between divisions, in some cases leading to even violent encounters. It is not uncommon for captains and lieutenants to be out of touch for extended periods of time, that is, until a universal threat, promotion, demotion, or public execution takes place. Consequently, it normally takes a day to gather all captains or lieutenants since they are usually dispersed over an expansive area going about their personal business or duties.
The Gotei 13 is subservient to the Central 46 Chambers, therefore the final word for any action comes from them. In the event that the Central 46 is not available, the captain-commander will assume responsibility of managing the organization. The Gotei 13 has no jurisdiction over noble families, unless a decree is issued directly from the Central 46.
