Abilities are the only thing used to determine one's rank. It has disposed of the system of rank based on seniority. The Gotei 13 is an organization with a merit-based hierarchy. The ranks and their descriptions are below, from highest to lowest in terms of strength. The lower the number is, the higher the rank. There are 20 ranks for officers, but no ranks for non-officers. The Gotei 13 is led by the Captain-Commander, who has the statuary authority to conduct all the affairs of the Gotei 13 while deferring to the authority of the Central 46 Chambers in matters involving Soul Society.Īs with any army, the Gotei 13 has ranks. The Gotei 13 is made up of thirteen divisions, with several divisions having certain specializations. Additionally, the captain of the Kidō Corps has been known to obey summons and orders from the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13. Officially, the Kidō Corps and Onmitsukidō are not part of the Gotei 13, but since Suì-Fēng is both the captain of the 2nd Division and the head of the Onmitsukidō, the Onmitsukidō is effectively under the control of the Gotei 13. The captain of one division cannot punish the subordinates of another captain. Captains are not allowed, without permission, to carry out activities outside of their normal jurisdiction or their division. Unless specifically ordered by the Captain-Commander, captains can choose whether or not to attend meetings (at their own risk) or not even involve themselves in the daily situations of Soul Society. They are so far spread out, getting the captains together as a group, or even getting their lieutenants together as a group, could normally take a day to accomplish. On a regular basis, the captains are spread out all across Soul Society doing their divisions' duties, whatever they may be. It is not uncommon for captains to not see each other as a whole group for long periods of time, except for cases involving a threat to all of Soul Society, a captain's punishment, or, to a lesser degree, a captain's promotion. The only general authority to call forth a combined front is an edict from the Central 46 Chambers, or more often the Captain-Commander. In addition to these duties, Shinigami have to deal with the business of being assigned to the Human World. The Gotei 13's main duty is to defend the Seireitei, but they are allocated districts in Rukongai to defend. The command of the divisions are generally left to the discretion of its particular captain, who commonly runs it whatever way they see fit, allowing for the change of a division's traditional duties to an entirely new set and even the creation of a separate institution connected to the division. The Gotei 13 does not normally operate as a cohesive unit.