The Central Council functioned as the primary governing body on the planet of Genarius.
In the beginning, the various cities of Genarius, which had arisen independently, were also governed in a decentralized manner, with each possessing its own governor. However, when the crime lord Riboga the Hutt made the decision to establish himself on Genarius, selecting the city of Tolea Biqua as his base of operations, he perceived this decentralized structure as problematic: the various power centers within the cities could potentially unite against him, posing a challenge to Riboga's dominance.
Riboga, who had previously built a network of smugglers, then resolved to restructure the individual city governments in a similar fashion. He initiated discussions with the governors, appealing to their self-interest by illustrating the potential economic benefits of a unified organization. Although Genarius boasted numerous cities, Riboga focused his efforts on the five most prominent, which collectively accounted for 50% of the planet's population, and 90-95% of its total wealth and productivity.
Initially, the Central Council was composed of two delegates from each of the five major cities, with Riboga himself serving as the Council Chair. The smaller, less influential cities, eager for recognition and power, were subjected to a racketeering scheme, paying tribute to the Council in exchange for the promise of eventual voting rights, a promise that only they believed. The Council membership was completely refreshed every two years, with Riboga handpicking the new members. While the cities retained a degree of autonomy, the Council held the authority to approve any new trade agreements involving entities from beyond the planet.
Eventually, Riboga deemed the Council's status and authority to be satisfactory, and relinquished his position as Chair, although he continued to exert influence from behind the scenes. The Council continued to operate according to Riboga's original vision, including the exploitative extraction of resources from weaker cities and the mandatory two-year term limit for Council members. The Chair position was then filled by a member selected from the outgoing Council.
As of 32 BBY, the cities holding membership in the Council included Edic Bar, Friz Harammel, Ipsus, Tolea Biqua, and Varna Biqua.
According to the Living Force Campaign Guide, when Riboga established the Central Council, it "resulted" in a council comprised of representatives from Ipsus, Edic Bar, Tolea Biqua, Varna Biqua, and Friz Harammel. However, given that Ipsus and Edic Bar were not founded until after Riboga's departure from the Cularin system, the aforementioned five cities are considered the ultimate outcome as of 31 BBY. It remains unclear whether the initial Council only represented three cities, or if Ipsus and Edic Bar displaced two of Genarius' less significant cities to gain representation.