meaning of "ratification"

[Guesting]

If a body may or must  "ratify" some document, decision, or action, to give it validity, does it also have the power to amend it, or may it only ratify or not ratify what is presented to it?

[Atul Kapur]

RONR speaks only of ratifying an action. RONR (12th ed.) 10:54 - also see 10:55-57.
Most actions cannot be amended retroactively.

You refer to ratifying a document. What the body is being asked to do, from a parliamentary procedure point of view, is to ratify the action of adopting the document. A common example is the ratification of an agreement that the body's negotiation committee has reached with another organization.

This is different than a committee recommending a document to the assembly for adoption, for example, a bylaws revision committee recommending a revised bylaws to the assembly. In this case the assembly can make whatever amends it wishes to the document proposed by the committee.

Some details on the exact situation you are in would help determine which of these actually applies.

[Dan Honemann]

48 minutes ago, Guesting said:

If a body may or must  "ratify" some document, decision, or action, to give it validity, does it also have the power to amend it, or may it only ratify or not ratify what is presented to it?

The latter.  An assembly cannot ratify something that didn't happen.

[Gary Novosielski]

4 hours ago, Guesting said:

If a body may or must  "ratify" some document, decision, or action, to give it validity, does it also have the power to amend it, or may it only ratify or not ratify what is presented to it?

I don't see how you can amend an action already taken, a decision already made, or a document already completed.  You can refuse to ratify them, but as they have already occurred, that's your only alternative.