Preserved interstate treaties and other documents from the 12th century show that authorities would already at that time oversee the work of the public notary and the chancellery. Based on key provisions made during the 15th century, the central administration consisted of five offices located in the Rector's Palace. These were: The Public Notary (legal private affairs), the State Chancellery (legal public affairs), the Judicial Chancellery (criminal justice affairs), the Office of the State Secretary (legal state affairs) and the Slavic Chancellery, which would eventually be transformed into the Turkish Chancellery. The secretaries oversaw the process of taking minutes of the sessions of the Senate, the Minor Council, as well as of those of the Major Council. This fonds contains primarily minutes of the sessions of the Major Council. In addition, secretaries would also compile the entire state correspondence instructed by the Senate and the Minor Council. They also created diplomatic codes and deciphered diplomatic mail, issued state documents such as certificates of the citizenship of the Dubrovnik Republic. The influence of secretaries increased so much in the 17th century that, from that moment onwards, they could be considered as the main administrative officials of the Dubrovnik Republic.