Matters of Form

Matters of Form

A resolution normally consists of two sections, a preamble, and an operative section. The preamble provides the reasons (the facts or the opinions) for the action to be taken; the operative part contains the decision reached or action that will be taken by the deliberative body in question, in this case the General Assembly.

The Preamble Section

In English the preamble normally begins with the word "whereas," followed by one of more statements. The word "whereas" appears only once, no matter how many supporting statements follow. Review the decision table below to understand the options of form.

Condition	If	Then
Each statement appears as a separate paragraph. The paragraphs are not numbered. Each paragraph except the last ends with a semicolon; the final paragraph ends with a comma.	the preamble is presented in this form	it is followed, on a separate line, by the name of the deliberative body in question, in this case "the General Assembly."

"The price of sugar has reached new lows on world markets" or "It is desirable that all children receive six years of elementary education at state expense,"

The General Assembly

Sometimes it is not convenient to cast the preamble in the form given above. In this case

the resolution begins with the name of the deliberative body, "The General Assembly," followed by a comma

the evidence cited consists in a document or documents,

the supporting material is then introduced by an appropriate participial verb form, the most common of which is "considering." "Considering" has the advantage that it may be followed either by a complete clause introduced by "that."

"having seen" is the appropriate introduction. It is followed by the name of the document; e.g. "The Draft Convention on Terrorism prepared by the Inter-American Juridical Committee."

Occasionally other introductory words can be used such as, "recognizing." It is always a good idea to review resolutions adopted by the OAS if you are unclear about introductory words.

None of the introductory expressions mentioned above can be combined with "whereas."
Each item following "considering," "having seen," is presented as a separate, unnumbered paragraph, and each except the last terminates with a semicolon. The very last paragraph before the operative part terminates with a comma.
Occasionally a resolution has no preamble, it being understood that the action taken requires no justification. A good example is a courtesy resolution, in which the General Assembly congratulates the President for his conduct of the meeting, or thanks some institution for rendered service rendered or hospitality.

The Operative Section

The Operative section of a resolution is introduced by "resolves," "recommends," "declares," and is presented in separate, numbered paragraphs, and each ends with a period. It is always a good idea to review resolutions adopted by the OAS if you are unclear about introductory words and the format of the Operative paragraph(s).

Condition	If	Then
On a separate line there follows the verb corresponding to the decision taken. Usually it is "resolves." Sometimes "recommends" is preferred, as more appropriate. In the case of a pronouncement, the word is usually "declares." All that follows this verb constitutes the operative section of the resolution.	The operative part contains more than one decision	Each is presented as a separate, numbered paragraph, terminating in a period. Each paragraph begins either with "to" followed by an infinitive, or by "that" followed by a complete clause.

"To instruct the Secretary General to " "That the Secretary General be instructed to "

"That the price of sugar has fallen to new lows" or by a noun, "The fall in the price of sugar on world markets."

Back to Matters of Substance

Up to Table of Contents

Ahead to Example Resolutions