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In law, coming into force or entry into force (also called commencement) is the process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have
legal force The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...
and effect. The term is closely related to the date of this transition. The point at which such instrument comes into effect may be set out in the instrument itself, or after the lapse of a certain period, or upon the happening of a certain event, such as a proclamation or an objective event, such as the birth, marriage, reaching a particular age or death of a certain person. On rare occasions, the effective date of a law may be backdated to a date before the enactment. To come into force, a treaty or Act first needs to receive the required number of votes or ratifications. Although it is common practice to stipulate this number as a requirement in the body of the treaty itself, it can also be set out in a superior law or legal framework, such as a
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
or the standing orders of the
legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
in which it originated. Coming into force generally includes publication in an official gazette so that people know the law or treaty exists.


Treaties

After their adoption, treaties as well as their amendments may have to follow the official legal procedures of the organisation, such as the United Nations, that sponsored it, including
signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...
, ratification, and entry into force.


Acts

The process of enactment, by which a
bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...
becomes an Act, is separate from commencement. Even if a bill passes through all necessary stages to become an Act, it may not automatically come into force. Moreover, an Act may be repealed having never come into force. A country's law could determine that on being passed by lawmakers a bill becomes an act without further ado. However, more usually, the process whereby a bill becomes an Act is well prescribed in general
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
al or administrative legislation. This process varies from country to country, and from political system to political system. Typically, the process by which a bill becomes an Act includes signature or some other token of assent by the head of state and publication in an official
gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspaper ...
. In some systems, the head of state or some other official is required to definitely signify his approval, as for example in the granting of royal assent in the Commonwealth realms. In others, a bill automatically becomes an Act unless vetoed, as for example in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. But these steps do not, in themselves, make an act legally binding on the population. An act is typically brought into force in one of three ways: * By means of an explicit commencement date (and sometimes time of day) written into the act itself. It is possible for different sections of an act to come into force at different dates or times. * As a result of a commencement order. Usually, an Act or part of an Act may only be brought into force by a commencement order if explicit provision is made. Commencement orders are typically issued by the executive branch of government, though they may also require legislative approval, or at least that the legislature be informed. As with explicit commencement dates, different parts of an act may be brought into force by different commencement orders at different times. * Automatically. An Act that does not include explicit commencement dates or provision for commencement orders, or that has dates or provides for commencement orders for only some of its contents, will typically be interpreted as having come into effect at a certain time relative to its enactment. This time is usually specified by an interpretive statute, or, in the absence of such a statute, a legal rule. For example, in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, until late in the 18th century a legal rule interpreted statutes as coming into effect at the start of the legislative session in which they were passed, but
Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793 The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793 (33 Geo. 3 c. 13) is an Act of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain which requires that the clerk of the Parliaments endorse every act of Parliament with the date on which the act passed ...
stipulated that future laws without explicit commencement provisions would come into effect on the day on which they received royal assent. A similar example is provided by
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
, where an Act without commencement provisions comes into force on the day after the day on which it received royal assent. * It is possible for an Act to come into effect through any combination of these three methods. It is not necessarily the case that a statute which comes into force remains in force until it is repealed; it may be explicitly brought out of force, and perhaps later brought back into force. For example, in Ireland, Section V of the Offences against the State Act 1939 (which provides for the Special Criminal Court) goes in and out of force by
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
proclamation: it was brought into force on 24 August 1939, out of force on 2 October 1962, and back into force on 26 May 1972.


United Kingdom

Section 4 of the Interpretation Act 1978 provides: This replaces the corresponding provision in the
Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793 The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793 (33 Geo. 3 c. 13) is an Act of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain which requires that the clerk of the Parliaments endorse every act of Parliament with the date on which the act passed ...
. Schedule 1 of that Act contains the following definition:


Northern Ireland

Sections 14(1) and (2) of the
Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (c 33) (NI) is an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. It replaces the Interpretation Act 1889 for Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Sco ...
read: In an enactment the expression "commencement", when used with reference to any statutory provision, means the time at which that provision comes into operation.


Scotland

Sections 2 and 3 of the
Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 Interpretation may refer to: Culture * Aesthetic interpretation, an explanation of the meaning of a work of art * Allegorical interpretation, an approach that assumes a text should not be interpreted literally * Dramatic Interpretation, an even ...
, which applies to
Acts of the Scottish Parliament An Act of the Scottish Parliament ( gd, Achd Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) is primary legislation made by the Scottish Parliament. The power to create Acts was conferred to the Parliament by section 28 of the Scotland Act 1998 following the successfu ...
and Scottish Statutory Instruments, provide- This replaces the temporary provision made by the Scotland Act 1998 (Transitory and Transitional Provisions) (Publication and Interpretation etc. of Acts of the Scottish Parliament) Order 1999.


References


See also

*
Effective date An effective date or as of date is the date upon which something is considered to take effect, which may be a past, present or future date. This may be different from the date upon which the event occurs or is recorded. See also *Coming into f ...
* List of enacting clauses * Act of Congress * Rule of law *
Vacatio legis ''Vacatio legis'' ( la, absence of law) is a technical term in law which designates the period between the announcement of a legislation and its entering into force. This concept also exists in the Catholic canon law.Fernando della Rocca, "Manua ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coming Into Force Legal terminology