5/11/2020 Legislation - Wikipedia

Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated (or "enacted") by a legislature or other governing
body or the process of making it.[1] Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a
bill, and may be broadly referred to as "legislation", while it remains under consideration to
distinguish it from other business. Legislation can have many purposes: to regulate, to authorize, to
outlaw, to provide (funds), to sanction, to grant, to declare or to restrict. It may be contrasted with a
non-legislative act which is adopted by an executive or administrative body under the authority of a
legislative act or for implementing a legislative act.[2]

Contents
Overview
Public participation in legislation
Dead letter
See also
References
External links

Overview
Under the Westminster system, an item of primary legislation is known as an Act of Parliament after
enactment.

Legislation is usually proposed by a member of the legislature (e.g. a member of Congress or

Parliament), or by the executive, where upon it is debated by members of the legislature and is often
amended before passage. Most large legislatures enact only a small fraction of the bills proposed in a
given session.[3] Whether a given bill will be proposed is generally a matter of the legislative priorities
of government.

Legislation is regarded as one of the three main functions of government, which are often
distinguished under the doctrine of the separation of powers. Those who have the formal power to
create legislation are known as legislators; a judicial branch of government will have the formal
power to interpret legislation (see statutory interpretation); the executive branch of government can
act only within the powers and limits set by the law, which is the instrument by which the
fundamental powers of government are established.

The function and procedures are primarily the responsibility of the legislature. However, there are
situations where legislation is made by other bodies or means, such as when constitutional law or
secondary legislation is enacted. Such other forms of law-making include referendums, orders in
council or regulations. The term legislation is sometimes used to include these situations, or the term
primary legislation may be used to exclude these other forms.

Public participation in legislation

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All modern constitutions and fundamental laws contain and declare the concept and principle of
popular sovereignty, which essentially means that the people are the ultimate source of public power
or government authority. The concept of popular sovereignty holds simply that in a society organized
for political action, the will of the people as a whole is the only right standard of political action. It can
be regarded as an important element in the system of the checks and balances, and representative
democracy. Therefore, the people are implicitly entitled even to directly participate in the process of
law making. This role of linking citizens and their government and legislators is closely related to the
concept of legitimacy. The exercise of democratic control over the legislative system and the policy-
making process can occur even when the public has only an elementary understanding of the national
legislative institution and its membership. Civic education is a vital strategy for strengthening public
participation and confidence in the legislative process.[4]

Dead letter
The phrase "dead letter" refers to legislation that has not been revoked, but that has become
inapplicable, obsolete, or is no longer enforced.[5]

See also
Rule according to higher law

References
1. See Article 289(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
2. Wim Voermans (December 2009). "Is the European Legislator after Lisbon a real Legislature?".
Legislacao Cadernos de Ciencia de Legislacao. 50: 391–413 [402]. "Within the category of legal
acts provided for by the TFEU, a distinction is made between legislative acts and non-legislative
acts. Legislative acts are decisions adopted under the ordinary or special legislative procedure
(Article 289(3) of the TFEU) and non-legislative acts are decisions that are adopted pursuant to
delegation or for the purpose of implementing a legislative act (Articles 35 See Article 288 of the
TFEU, last 290 and 291 of the TFEU)"
3. Senate.gov (https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/two_column_table/Resumes.htm)
4. Vértesy, László (2017-01-10). "The Public Participation in the Drafting of Legislation in Hungary"
(http://cepar.fu.uni-lj.si/index.php/CEPAR/article/view/333). Central European Public
Administration Review. 14 (4). doi:10.17573/ipar.2016.4.06 (https://doi.org/10.17573%2Fipar.201
6.4.06). ISSN 2591-2259 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2591-2259).
5. Dead Letter (https://definitions.uslegal.com/d/dead-letter)

External links
"Legislation" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_International_Encyclop%C3%A6dia/Legisl
ation). New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
Most-Viewed Bills on Congress.gov (https://www.congress.gov/resources/display/content/Most-Vi
ewed+Bills)

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