Editing Resolution (law)

{{short description|Often non-binding statement of intent in law}}{{Use American English|date=January 2019}}
[[File:17750324 Resolution - In Provincial Congress - John Hancock - The Virginia Gazette.jpg|thumb| upright=1.5| This March 24, 1775 resolution of the [[Massachusetts Provincial Congress]], signed by [[John Hancock]] weeks before the [[battles of Lexington and Concord]], calls for the colony to be put into "a complete state of defense".<ref name=Resolution_17750324>{{cite news |title=In Provincial Congress / Concord, March 24, 1775 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/williamsburg-virginia-gazette-apr-21-1775-p-15/ |work=The Virginia Gazette |date=April 21, 1775 |location=Williamsburg, Virginia |page=15}} </ref> Resolutions are often preceded by "Whereas..." clauses that express reasons or justifications for the ensuing resolution.]]
In law, a '''resolution''' is a [[motion (parliamentary procedure)|motion]], often in writing{{efn|group=note|Long or important motions are often written so that it can be distributed outside the body after its adoption.}}, 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==
{{main|Corporate resolution}}
In corporations, a written resolution is especially useful in the case of the [[board of directors]] of a [[corporation]], 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]], 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 [[Motion (parliamentary procedure)|motion]] 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 resolution]]s.

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]] [[declaration of war by the United States|declares war]] or proposes [[constitutional amendment]]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 of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker]] or as the [[United States House of Representatives]] does to [[impeachment|impeach]] an officer of the [[government]].

==Types==
===Non-binding===
{{Main|Non-binding resolution}}
In a house of a [[legislature]], the term [[non-binding resolution]] refers to measures that do not become [[law]]s. This is used to differentiate those measures from a [[bill (proposed law)|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]], or being protected by a [[constitution]].  An example would be a resolution of support for a nation's [[troops]] in [[battle]], which carries no [[legal]] weight, but is adopted for [[moral support]].

===Substantive and procedural=== <!--Substantive resolution and Procedural resolution redirect here-->
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]]s
*[[United Nations Security Council resolution]]s
*[[War Powers Resolution]]

==See also==
*[[Courtesy resolution]]
*[[Main motion]]
*[[Preamble]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}
{{Commons category|Resolutions (law)}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Resolutions (law)| ]]
[[Category:Motions (parliamentary procedure)]]
[[Category:Parliamentary procedure]]