Delegated legislation (sometimes referred to as secondary legislation or subordinate legislation) is law made by an executive authority under powers given to them by primary legislation in order to implement and administer the requirements of the acts. Lady Justice or Justitia is a personification of the moral force that underlies the legal system (particularly in Western art). ... Primary legislation is legislation made by the legislative branch of government. ...

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, there are two ways in which to pass legislation. Delegated legislation is the name given to legislation or law that is passed otherwise than a statute (an Act). In this way the legislation does not go through the two Houses of Parliament. Most Delegated Legislation is concerned with relatively narrow, technical matters. However, nowadays there is far more delegated legislation than statute law and for this reason it could be argued that it is more important than the latter. In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. ... This may refer to the: British Houses of Parliament. ...

Delegated legislation can take several forms. The most important form is a statutory instrument. This is not passed as a statute, instead a statute called either a parent Act or an enabling Act is passed and this gives a Government Minister the power to introduce the legislation. The statutory instrument will contain a preamble which sets out the authority under which it was passed. It will also contain a statutory note which sets out its purpose and its scope. Statutory instruments are made in the name of a Minister but are drawn up by the legal department of the relevant Ministry. The Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 allowed Ministers to change certain Acts of Parliament by way of statutory instrument, without going through the normal parliamentary procedure. This power was later extended by first the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 and the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006. Look up Preamble in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Regulatory Reform Act 2001 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (2001 c. ... The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (reference 2006 c. ...

Another form is called Orders in Council and made by the Privy Council. The Council is made up of eminent Parliamentarians and the Government of the day can use it to introduce legislation without going through the process of enacting a statute. Orders in Council can be used to implement emergency legislation, where there would not be time to have formal debates in the Houses of Parliament. Orders in Council are also used to give effect to provisions of the European Community which do not have direct effect (as opposed to direct influence), to shift responsibilities between government departments or in relation to matters which affect the constitution. Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ...

By-laws made by local authorities and other public bodies are another type. These are used to introduce local rules of minor importance. The power to enact by-laws is given by an enabling act, such as the Local Government Act 1972. The Local Government Act 1972 (1972 c. ...

Delegated legislation has certain advantages and disadvantages. The advantages usually claimed are that it can be enacted without using up Parliamentary time, that it makes use of particular expertise held by those who enact it and that it is flexible enough to deal speedily with changing circumstances and emergencies.

Delegated legislation is also criticised on several grounds. First, there is the danger that the Government can pass legislation setting out new principles by abusing the process of delegated legislation. Second, some delegated legislation gives Ministers the power to alter statutes, possibly including the very enabling Act which conferred the power to make the delegated legislation in question.

Certain controls over delegated legislation do exist. Ministers are often required by the enabling Act to consult various bodies before enacting delegated legislation. Statutory instruments must be published and made available for sale to the public. In addition to these controls, delegated legislation is also controlled by Parliament and the courts.

Controversy

• Advocates suggest that it represents an efficient way of relieving Parliament, that much of its subject-matter is uncontroversial, and that Parliament voluntarily gave up power in such irksome business.
• Critics object to the growing legislative autonomy of the executive from Parliament, and point out that deeply controversial matters, such as immigration rules, have been treated as delegated legislation.

Increasing political concern was reflected in the House of Lords' successful defeat in February 2000 of an affirmative instrument by which government sought to deny candidates a free mailshot in the 2000 London Mayoral election. Devolution to Northern Ireland (1998) and Scotland (1999) means that the assembly and parliament respectively make their own arrangements for primary and delegated legislation. The creation of the National Assembly for Wales (1999) established an elected institution that is unique in being solely responsible for the creation, scrutiny, and implementation of delegated legislation from primary legislation still drawn up by the UK Parliament. This article is about the British House of Lords. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Mayor of London is an elected politician in London, United Kingdom, who heads the Greater London Authority and is responsible for budgeting and strategic planning of some governmental functions across the whole of the region of London. ... Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official languages English (de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3, BSL, NISL, ISL Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Ian Paisley  - Deputy First Minister... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots3 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  -  First Minister Jack McConnell... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The National Assembly for Wales (NAW or NAfW) (Welsh: ) is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Examples of where Delegated Legislation may apply

Statutory Instrument are regulations made by government Minister and department. Examples are the Road Vehicles Regulations 2001 and Prison Rules 1999.

By-laws are made by local authorities to cover matters within their own area. Meanwhile, Bye-law also can be made by certain public corporations and certain companies for matters within their jurisdiction which involve the public. In Boddington v. British Transport Police [1998] British Rail made a byelaw under Transport Act 1962, prohibiting smoking where "no smoking" notices were displayed. The Transport Act, 1962 was passed by Harold Macmillans Conservative government to dissolve the British Transport Commission, which had been established by Clement Attlees Labour government in the 1940s to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport. ...

Orders-in-Council are laws made by and with the advice of Her Majesty's Privy Council and are used for tasks such as transferring responsibilities between Government Departments, and under the Emergency Powers Act 1920. An example is the Government controlling fuel supplies during the fuel crisis in 2000 and Consumer Protection Act 1987 Order 2000 which extended the scope of consumer protection law to agricultural products. An Order-in-Council is an executive order issued in Commonwealth Realms operating under the Westminster system. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... The Emergency Powers Act 1920 was passed by the Lloyd George Coalition Government and gave the sovereign power to declare an emergency by proclamation in certain circumstances, by Order in Council, and gave the government limited emergency powers. ...

Why is there a need for Delegated Legislation?

Delegated legislation plays an important part in the smooth running of Parliament and Law as a whole. Parliament cannot cope with the demand for new laws, and so delegating the responsibility to another body takes the pressure off Parliament and allows the act to be passed faster, as it does not have to travel through the system as shown earlier.

This type of legislation can be more subject specific, using technical knowledge from qualified individuals, creating a more thorough, detailed and smoother running piece of legislation. Delegated legislation can also be put into place if problems arise with existing legislation, as it is not feasible to take into account every aspect and every future problem when creating the legislation in the first place.

For example, if a new piece of legislation needs to be introduced regarding the running of hospitals, there may only be few members of parliament in the medical profession, and so there would not be the necessary background knowledge in Parliament. In this case, Parliament may delegate the responsibility of creating the legislation to the British Medical Association.

Examples of how Delegated Legislation is controlled are as follows: Consultation – those in the profession, as shown above, are consulted with regards to the subject (e.g. BMA with respect to legislation involving hospitals).

An example of delegated legislation and its effects can be seen in Wolverhampton with the recent introduction of banning drinking in public places (e.g. West Park, Dudley Street). This is to help cut down on drink related crimes.

Advantages and Disadvantages

It is now generally accepted that delegated legislation not only has shortcomings but that it also has some advantages.

Firstly, It saves Parliamentary time. To take just one example, the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 1995 run to 185 very detailed but uncontroversial pages. There would be nothing to be gained from debating these in Parliament: the time taken for 650 MPs and 300 or so peers even to read the draft regulations would be better spent on other things.

It allows Parliament to concentrate more on broad issues of policy rather than masses of detail. The Road Traffic Act 1972 included a general requirement for motor-cyclists to wear protective helmets, but left the Secretary of State to draw up detailed regulations as to the type of helmet required. The Motor Cycles (Protective Helmets) Regulations 1980 contain further detail about the requirements.

It allows technical matters to be determined by those competent to do so, and can make use of expert knowledge not available within the Civil Service. The Air Navigation Order 1995 contains 140 pages of highly technical rules (including tables, maps and so on) governing the flying of civil aircraft around the United Kingdom: it is doubtful whether any Member of Parliament (including the Minister) had the technical expertise even to comment on these rules, let alone draft them.

Delegated legislation is more flexible than an Act of Parliament. The County Court Fees Order 1999 sets out the fees payable at various stages of civil proceedings, but the County Court Fees (Amendment) Order 2002 amends this Order to take account of changes in certain enforcement procedures. Similarly, the Civil Courts (Amendment) Order 1997 was made by the Lord Chancellor under s.2(1) of the County Courts Act 1984 to close the now-redundant County Court at Ammanford.

It allows rapid action to be taken in times of emergency. The Food Protection (Emergency Provisions) Order 1986 was made and laid before Parliament and came into effect less than two hours later, prohibiting the movement or slaughter for food of sheep in certain areas thought to have been affected by radioactive fallout from the incident at the Chernobyl power station.

It has allowed for the National Assembly for Wales to make specific policy decisions for Wales. For example although the primary legislation concerning the National Health Service is by and large common to England and Wales, the structure of the service and the cost of prescriptions charges vary between the two countries.

A disadvantage of delegated legislation is in the sheer bulk of laws that get passed through its channels. Because of this bulk, there is normally a lack of publicity or knowledge about the rules enforced.

Another disadvantage is that accountability and control are lost. Because the powers are delegated, and combined with the bulk of delegated legislation, the system becomes rather undemocratic due to those whom the legislations are delegated to being hard to make accountable. There is also a loss of control over the laws that can be made - although Parliament and the courts (via judicial review) can add some control measures.