10 Weirdest Laws In The Star Trek Universe
3. General Order 34
Starfleet captains must honour, respect, and display extreme tolerance for species-based customs and practices insofar as the safety of the vessel was not threatened by such practices. While any action by a member of the crew that threatens the ship is prohibited, that says nothing about the lives of the crew themselves.
When Commander Worf is stationed at Deep Space Nine, he is visited by his brother Kurn. Their lands and titles have been stripped from them by a vengeful Chancellor Gowron, leaving the once-proud Klingon commander with nothing. He arrives with a simple request of his big brother - he wants Worf to kill him, as part of the Mauk-to'Vor ritual.
This perfectly legal request entails having Worf stab his brother after a short period of preparation. However, in an uncharacteristic show of disrespect toward Klingon culture, Jadzia Dax stops the ritual from being carried out. She rushes Kurn to sickbay, ruining his chance at honour and placing Worf in an embarrassing situation.
Captain Sisko then proceeds to tear Worf a new one, making it bluntly clear that he will, in no way, support Worf killing his brother, regardless of its legality or not. This is in direct opposition to General Order 34, suggesting that this was not written with Klingons in mind.