A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

, especially at a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or national level are not considered councils. At such levels, there may be no separate executive branch, and the council may effectively represent the entire government. A board of directors might also be denoted as a council. A committee might also be denoted as a council, though a committee is generally a subordinate body composed of members of a larger body, while a council may not be. Because many schools have a student council, the council is the form of governance with which many people are likely to have their first experience as electors or participants. A member of a council may be referred to as a councillor or councilperson, or by the gender-specific titles of councilman and councilwoman.

In politics

Flag of the Organization of Turkic States

Notable examples of types of councils encountered in politics include: * Turkic Council, also known as the Organisation of Turkic states is the body responsible for determining future of the Turkic countries. * Borough council, a form of local government * Catholic Ecumenical Councils, ecclesiastical gatherings for ordering the Catholic Church * City council, a form of local government * Community council, the most local official representative body in Scotland and in Wales * Council of Europe, a political, intergovernmental organization with 47 member countries * Council of the European Union, the upper house of the European Union * Council of State, an organ of government in many states * County council, a council that governs a county in the British Isles * District council (disambiguation), District council, a unit of government in various jurisdictions * Ecumenical Councils, pan-Christian discussion bodies * European Council, the body of heads of states or of governments of the European Union * Labour council, an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area * Municipal council, a form of local government * National security council, an executive-branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues * Parish councils in England, a form of local government in part of the United Kingdom * Privy council, a body that advises the head of state of a country * Provincial council (disambiguation), Provincial council, a governing body for a province * Regional Council (disambiguation), Regional council, a local-government body in various countries * Shire Council, an entity of local government in Australia * Shura Council, the formerly upper house of the Egyptian parliament. * Town council, a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or parishes * Tribal Council, First Nations' and Native American Nations' governing bodies * UK Research Councils, government agencies responsible for an area of research in the United Kingdom * United Nations Security Council, a decision-making body at the United Nations * Vatican Council (disambiguation), Vatican Council, a high-level policy-council of the Roman Catholic Church * Village council (Palestinian Authority), a local-government body in Palestine * Workers' council, a council composed of working-class or proletarian members

In other fields

Types of councils encountered in other spheres include: * Arts council, a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts * Bar council, a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the Inns of Court * Buddhist councils, important historical events in the history of Buddhism * Council (Boy Scouts), a non-profit private corporation within Boy Scouts of America * Ecumenical council, a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice * Military council * Student council, a student organization present in many elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities * Synod in a Christian church * University Council running a university * Council of war, War Council, discussions pertaining to a declaration of war, or tactics and strategy of a coming battle * Works council, a body representing the workers of a plant, factory, etc., elected to negotiate with the management about working conditions, wages, etc. * Youth council, an example of youth voice engaged in youth-led decision-making

*Accreditation Council (disambiguation), Accreditation Council *Advisory Council (disambiguation), Advisory Council *Affairs Council (disambiguation), Affairs Council *American Council (disambiguation), American Council *Australian Council (disambiguation), Australian Council *Canadian Council (disambiguation), Canadian Council *Christian Council (disambiguation), Christian Council *Common Council (disambiguation), Common Council *Cooperation Council (disambiguation), Cooperation Council *Council High School (disambiguation), Council High School *Council house (disambiguation), Council house *Council of Elders (disambiguation), Council of Elders *Crown Council (disambiguation), Crown Council *Dance Council (disambiguation), Dance Council *Danish Council (disambiguation), Danish Council *Defence Council (disambiguation), Defence Council *Dental Council (disambiguation), Dental Council *District council (disambiguation), District council *Dutch Council (disambiguation), Dutch Council *European Council (disambiguation), European Council *Examinations Council (disambiguation), Examinations Council *Executive Council (disambiguation), Executive Council *Federal Council (disambiguation), Federal Council *Federation Council (disambiguation), Federation Council *French Council (disambiguation), French Council *Funding Council (disambiguation), Funding Council *General council (disambiguation), General council *General Teaching Council (disambiguation), General Teaching Council *Grand Council (disambiguation), Grand Council *High Council (disambiguation), High Council *Hong Kong Council (disambiguation), Hong Kong Council *Indian Council (disambiguation), Indian Council *International Council (disambiguation), International Council *Iraqi Council (disambiguation), Iraqi Council *Local Council (disambiguation), Local Council *Medical Council (disambiguation), Medical Council *Military Council *Muslim Council (disambiguation), Muslim Council *National Council (disambiguation), National Council *Olympic Council (disambiguation), Olympic Council *Policy Council (disambiguation), Policy Council *Polish Council (disambiguation), Polish Council *Press Council (disambiguation), Press Council *Regional Council (disambiguation), Regional Council *Restoration Council (disambiguation), Restoration Council *Revolutionary Council (disambiguation), Revolutionary Council *Scottish Council (disambiguation), Scottish Council *State Council (disambiguation), State Council *Supreme Council (disambiguation), Supreme Council *The Council (disambiguation), The Council *Valley Council (disambiguation), Valley Council *Vietnamese Council (disambiguation), Vietnamese Council *World Council (disambiguation), World Council

External links

{{wiktionary Deliberative groups Legislatures ja:評議会 ko:평의회

In politics

In other fields

See also

Articles

Disambiguation pages

External links