Warrant (law)
In
law, a
warrant can mean any form of
authorization. Often in
statute the warrant of a particular person is required before certain administrative actions can take place. For example, before the
United States Secretary of State may affix the
Great Seal of the United States to
letters patent, the
President must give authorization [
1].
Warrant officers derive their authority from an authorization given by a
defense minister as opposed to actually being an
officer of the
state.
Most often, the term
warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a
writ issued by a competent officer, usually a
judge or
magistrate, which commands an otherwise illegal act that would violate
individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from
damages if the act is performed. The
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits search or arrest without a warrant, unless there is a reasonable doubt to
privacy.
Warrants are typically issued by
courts and are directed to the
sheriff or a
police officer. The warrants issued by a court normally are
search warrants,
arrest warrants, and
execution warrants. A typical arrest warrant in the
United States will take the approximate form of:
"This Court orders the Sheriff to find the named person, wherever he may be found, and deliver said person to the custody of the Court."Warrants are also issued by other
government entities, particularly
legislatures, since most have the
power to compel the attendance of their members. This is called a
call of the house.
In the
United Kingdom, senior public appointments are made by
warrant under
sign manual, the personal
signature of the
monarch, on the recommendations of the government.
*
UK appointments made by warrant under the Royal sign manual - from the
London Gazette 
