Non-binding resolution

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Motion by a deliberative body that isn't law

title: "Non-binding resolution" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["resolutions-(law)"] description: "Motion by a deliberative body that isn't law" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-binding_resolution" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Motion by a deliberative body that isn't law ::

A non-binding resolution is a motion adopted by a deliberative body that does not enact a law or a substantive rule, and is simply used to make known what the opinions of that body are in relation to a certain fact or event.

This type of resolution is often used to express the body's approval or disapproval of something that 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.

Use

Non-binding resolutions are usually specific simple or concurrent resolutions that are not passed on to the executive branch to be signed into the law. These resolutions differ from pure concurrent resolutions (that are used for various procedural requests such as adjourning sessions) in that they are designed to express formally, document opinions and not initiate a process.

These resolutions offer a means for elected officials to publicly air the concerns of their constituents and are closely followed by major media outlets. Additionally, these resolutions can be used to state the position of the legislature, showing a preview of how they will vote on future legislation and budget allocations.

Notable historic uses

Canada

United Nations

Main article: United Nations resolution, United Nations General Assembly Resolution, United Nations Security Council Resolution

United States

In the United States Congress, non-binding resolutions are frequently titled as a "Sense of Congress" resolution, if both houses pass the measure (a concurrent resolution), or as a "Sense of the Senate" or "Sense of the House" resolution, if the measure is passed by only one house (a simple resolution).

  • On June 22, 1971, the Senate passed a non-binding resolution in support of withdrawing troops from Vietnam.
  • In July 1998, the Senate passed a non-binding resolution affirming their commitment to a democratic Taiwan.
  • In February 2007, the House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution, House Concurrent resolution 63, to formally express its disapproval of President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq.
  • House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution (HRES 224),{{cite web | url = http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc111/hr224_eh.xml | title = H. Res. 224 | access-date = 2009-03-14 | date = 2009-03-12 | archive-date = 2014-12-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141210160940/http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc111/hr224_eh.xml | url-status = dead | url = http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10194354-38.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5 | title = National Pi Day? Congress makes it official | work = Politics and Law | last = McCullagh | first = Declan | publisher = CNET News | date = March 11, 2009 | access-date = 2009-03-14 | archive-date = 2022-03-18 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220318035357/https://www.cnet.com/13578_3-10194354-38.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5 | url-status = dead

A "sense of Congress" clause may also be used within legislation to direct the actions which Congress wishes the executive to undertake, for example: ::quote[attribution="Secretary of Defense]] should take appropriate steps to provide for upgrading information technology systems for the [[Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces"] "It is the sense of Congress that the [[US Secretary of Defense ::

The legislatures of the 50 U.S. states also frequently adopt non-binding resolutions. For example:

  • In February 2007, the Vermont State House of Representatives and Senate passed non-binding resolutions calling for the orderly withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq to commence immediately.

References

References

  1. Holland, Joshua. (2007-02-15). "It's Way Too Late for Nonbinding Resolutions on Iraq". AlterNet.
  2. The Associated Press. (October 2010). "What's a nonbinding resolution?". nwsource.com}} {{Dead link.
  3. Profita, Hillary. (2006-06-16). "Why A Non-Binding Resolution Gets A Lot of Attention". cbsnews.com.
  4. "Vote No. 466". Parliament of Canada.
  5. McCormick, James M.. (2014). "American Foreign Policy and Process". Wadsworth.
  6. (2018). "The Oxford Handbook of U.S. National Security". [[Oxford University Press]].
  7. "Vietnam War 1969–1975". The History Place.
  8. Moore, Janet. (1998-07-01). "Senate Passes Non-Binding Resolution To Reassure Taiwan". cnn.com.
  9. "110th Congress, 1st Session H. CON. RES.". speaker.gov.
  10. (2007). "U.S. House of Representatives Roll Call Votes 110th Congress, 1st Session". clerk.house.gov.
  11. Toner, Robin. (2007-02-13). "House Democrats Unveil Measure Denouncing Iraq Buildup". [[The New York Times]].
  12. [https://www.congress.gov/106/plaws/publ398/PLAW-106publ398.pdf Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001], Public Law 106-398, section 815
  13. "Legislative Documents".
  14. "Legislative Documents".

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resolutions-(law)