A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the recipient admits a limited (or inferior) status within the relationship, and it is within that sense that charters were historically granted, and that sense is retained in modern usage of the term. Also, charter can simply be a document giving royal permission to start a colony.

The word entered the English language from the Old French chartre (ultimately from the Latin word for "paper"), but the concept is universal and transcends language. It has come to be synonymous with the document that lays out the granting of rights or privileges.

Modern usage

As legislative bodies (such as parliaments) gained political power and obtained rights in their own name, they continued the custom of granting charters in the same fashion. The only difference was that legislatures now played the role of sovereign. As society has evolved, institutions that were once considered as requiring specific permission (such as towns, schools, and corporations) have become commonplace, and procedures have been streamlined such that if certain pre-specified conditions are met, the institutions are "chartered" almost automatically. That the procedures and conditions are pre-set does not alter the fact that the institutions are operating under a charter no different than if the charter had been specifically crafted for a single case.

Colloquial usages

The term is used for a special case (or as an exception) to an institutional charter. A charter school, for example, is one that has different rules, regulations, and statutes than a public school.

Charter is sometimes used as a synonym for 'rent' or 'lease', as in the 'charter' of a bus or boat by an organization, intended for a similar group destination.

A charter member of an organization is an original member; that is, one who became a member when the organization received its charter.

Any organization with a stated purpose or stated rules might be considered to have a charter, whether sanctioned by others or not.

See also

• Anglo-Saxon Charters
• Charter colony
• Congressional charter
• Municipal charter
• Project charter
• Earth Charter
• Fueros (Spanish version)
• General incorporation law
• Medieval Bulgarian royal charters
• Papal Bull
• Royal Charter
• United Nations Charter

References

for example a charter from eliz to raleigh