The project charter formally authorizes the project; each and every project has a project charter. The project charter is a high level description of the project goals and the desired deliverables. Additionally, the project charter identifies the project manager and gives him or her authority to request and manage resources for the project.
In our simple example of the broken washing machine, the project charter is equivalent to the owner calling the appliance repair shop and setting up an appointment to have the washing machine looked at. The repair shop agrees to send someone out, identifies the technician, and tells the owner any associated fees for the service. This authorizes the repair shop to send someone and provides a high level description of what will be accomplished.