Published in Rotary International


Rotary Council on Resolutions

The Rotary International Councils give all Rotarians a voice in how the organization is governed.

The Council on Resolutions meets online every year to vote on proposed resolutions. Resolutions are requests to the Board or the Trustees to take an action that is outside the purview of the constitutional documents. Ideally, a resolution should affect the Rotary world, rather than address local or administrative issues.

Representatives from all Rotary districts vote on resolutions proposed by clubs, districts, the RI Board, and the general council or conference of RIBI. Adopted resolutions are then considered by the RI Board or The Rotary Foundation Trustees.

The Council on Resolutions will take place 15 October through 15 November. You can view beginning 1 October. Voting will close 15 November at 23:59 Chicago time (UTC-6). The  will be published by 20 November. Any Rotarian can view the resolutions and the results, but only representatives can vote. Find answers to .



Council on Legislation

Every three years, Rotarians meet at the Council on Legislation to review and vote on proposed changes to the legislation that governs Rotary. They consider enactments, which change Rotary’s governing documents, and position statements by the RI Board.


Council Representatives

Each Rotary district chooses a representative for a three-year term. These members represent their districts at all three meetings of the Council on Resolutions and at the Council on Legislation during their term.

District governors had until 30 June 2017 to report to Rotary their district representatives for the term covering 1 July 2017 through 30 June 2020. Representatives will participate in the:

  • 2017, 2018, and 2019 Councils on Resolutions
  • 2019 Council on Legislation

Proposing legislation and resolutions

Clubs, districts, the RI Board, and the RIBI general council or conference may submit legislation and resolutions to the Councils. The deadline for submitting resolutions for the 2018 Council on Resolutions was 30 June 2018. Upcoming deadlines for submitting resolutions and legislation follow:

  • 2019 Council on Resolutions: 30 June 2019
  • 2022 Council on Legislation: 31 December 2020


2019 Resolutions

The Council on Resolutions meets online every year to vote on proposed resolutions. Resolutions are requests to the Board or the Trustees to take an action that is outside the purview of the constitutional documents.

Revisions of the governing documents take place in the Council on Legislation which meets every three years. The next meeting will take place this year in April. There are some proposed enactments which may be of particular interest to Rotarian peacebuilders:

19-05, explicit mention of “peace centres” in the context of the international service.

19-07, mention of positive peace in the context of community, international and youth service.

19-13, environmental protection and sustainable development as a new issue to be fostered.

19-16 Fifth domain: The preservation of the Planet Earth in its diversity.



All Rotary clubs and districts are invited to comment on proposed resolutions. The deadline to comment on the current proposed resolutions is February 14, 2019.