pragmatic sanction
noun
historical- an imperial or royal decree that has the force of law.
- (Pragmatic Sanction) a document drafted in 1717 by the Emperor Charles VI providing for his daughter Maria Theresa to succeed to all his territories should he die without a son. Opposition to it led to the War of the Austrian Succession on Charles’s death in 1740.
Origin:
translating Law Latin pragmatica sanctio