Legal Definitions - carte blanche

Carte Blanche

The term carte blanche refers to the granting of complete freedom to act as one sees fit, or the delegation of unlimited authority to make decisions and take action without needing further approval. It signifies a situation where an individual or entity is given full discretion to proceed within a specified domain.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of carte blanche:

• Business Acquisition: A company's board of directors might give their CEO carte blanche to negotiate and finalize the acquisition of a smaller competitor. The board trusts the CEO's judgment on all the specific terms, pricing, and integration strategies, only requiring a successful outcome within a general budget.

  This illustrates carte blanche because the CEO has been given full discretionary power to make all necessary decisions and commitments to complete the acquisition without needing to return to the board for approval on every detail.

• Artistic Commission: A wealthy patron commissions an artist to create a large mural for their new building, giving the artist carte blanche regarding the subject matter, style, materials, and overall artistic direction. The patron only specifies the wall dimensions and a completion deadline, allowing the artist complete creative freedom.

  This demonstrates carte blanche as the artist has been granted unlimited authority over the creative process and execution of the artwork, with no specific constraints on their artistic choices beyond the physical space and timeline.

• Emergency Response: During a severe natural disaster, the governor might issue an executive order giving the head of the state's emergency management agency carte blanche to deploy resources, allocate funds, and make immediate operational decisions to protect public safety and restore essential services. This allows the agency to bypass standard bureaucratic procedures in the urgent situation.

  Here, carte blanche means the agency head has been given full discretionary power and unlimited authority to act decisively and allocate resources as they deem necessary to manage the crisis, without waiting for step-by-step approvals.