acting under (or with) their full authority?

This is a big issue in the Navy - probably throughout the military - where a "change of command" is always conducted at a public ceremony in which the new commanding officer's boss is present to place official imprimatur on the authority being vested in the new commanding officer. Public reading of orders, etc. are the order of the day.

"I don't know which is worse: ignorance or apathy. And, frankly, I don't care." - Anonymous