The Hutt Clan and the Galactic Republic forged a treaty during the Clone Wars, facilitated by the crime lord Jabba the Hutt.
The treaty's terms dictated that the Hutt Clan would abstain from active participation in the war's battles. In return, the Galactic Republic pledged to refrain from initiating hostilities within Hutt territory. Due to the Republic's misjudgment of the legal prowess of the lawyers employed by the Hutt Clan, the treaty underwent amendments that granted the Hutts the capacity to observe Republic space affairs. Conversely, the Republic was largely restricted from similar oversight regarding the matters discussed in Hutt Space.
The Republic's act of signing a formal treaty with a criminal syndicate had the unintended consequence of legitimizing the Hutts' enterprises and establishing a foothold for them in the Core Worlds.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Master, spearheaded the initial treaty negotiations with Jabba. Subsequently, Senator Padmé Amidala successfully secured the treaty's ratification after exposing a scheme by the Confederacy of Independent Systems to abduct his son and falsely implicate the Jedi Order in the offense.