In 1971, President Richard Nixon unilaterally ordered the cancellation of the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold.

In a move to placate the International Monetary Fund, which he had fiercely attacked while a candidate, his government has also unilaterally ordered a multibillion-dollar increase in its budget surplus.

Because the government's needs change from time to time, government contracts contain a clause authorizing the contracting officer to unilaterally order changes in the specifications and other contract terms.

"The court today took one step, one good step, by ending their attempt to unilaterally order themselves pay increases," Ms. Jackson said.

The I.R.S. officer who unilaterally ordered her bank account seized got a promotion, while Ms. Lojeski got a bill for $30,000 in legal fees.

Governor Glendening unilaterally ordered preliminary dredging last year with available money, arguing that without it, a year's construction time would have been lost.

He is faulted for unilaterally ordering naval interdiction of Iraqi ports without waiting for United Nations support.

To begin with, a president cannot unilaterally order a drug withdrawn from the market; that authority rests with the secretary of health and human services, who delegates it to the commissioner of food and drugs.

Ms. Fiorina said that at the meeting she believed that she was having a discussion with the board members and that they could not unilaterally order her to take the actions they were demanding.