17750324 Resolution - In Provincial Congress - John Hancock - The Virginia Gazette

In law, a resolution is a

motion In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an o ...

, often in writing, which has been adopted by a deliberative body (such as a corporations' board and or the house of a legislature). An alternate term for a resolution is a ''resolve''.

In corporations

In corporations, a written resolution is especially useful in the case of the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of a

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

, which usually needs to give its consent to real estate purchases or sales by the corporation. Such a resolution, when certified by the corporation's

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

, gives assurance to the other side of the transaction that the sale was properly authorized. Other examples include resolutions approving the opening of bank accounts or authorizing the issuance of shares in the corporation.

Legislative bodies

In many legislative bodies, the term resolution is the way a

which has been approved is called. In the United States, resolution means a proposal made in writing, while motion means a proposal made verbally. Houses of a legislature often adopt non-binding resolutions. However, a legislature also uses resolutions to exercise one of its binding powers that isn't a lawmaking power. For example, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

declares war or proposes

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

s by adopting a joint resolution. A house of a legislature can also use a resolution to exercise its specific powers, as the British House of Commons does to elect its Speaker or as the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

does to impeach an officer of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Types

Non-binding

In a house of a legislature, the term non-binding resolution refers to measures that do not become laws. This is used to differentiate those measures from a bill, which is also a resolution in the technical sense. The resolution is often used to express the body's approval or disapproval of something which they cannot otherwise vote on, due to the matter being handled by another

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

, or being protected by a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. An example would be a resolution of support for a nation's

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a Squadron (cavalry), squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section (military unit), section or platoon. Exception ...

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

, which carries no legal weight, but is adopted for moral support.

Substantive and procedural

Substantive resolutions apply to essential legal principles and rules of right, analogous to substantive law, in contrast to procedural resolutions, which deal with the methods and means by which substantive items are made and administered.

Historical examples of resolutions

* Gulf of Tonkin Resolution * Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions *

United Nations General Assembly resolution A United Nations General Assembly resolution is a decision or declaration voted on by all member states of the United Nations in the United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly. General Assembly resolutions usually require a simple majority ...

s * United Nations Security Council resolutions * War Powers Resolution

References

Notes

{{Authority control Motions (parliamentary procedure) Parliamentary procedure