In many countries, a statutory instrument is a form of

delegated legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative dem ...

United Kingdom

Statutory instruments are the principal form of delegated or secondary legislation 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

National government

Statutory instruments (or 'regulations') are primarily governed by the

Statutory Instruments Act 1946 The Statutory Instruments Act 1946 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which governs the making of statutory instruments. Until 2011 the Act also governed Scottish statutory instruments made under Acts of the Scottish Parliament ...

, which replaced the system of

statutory rules and orders Statutory rules and orders were the means by which delegated legislation used to be made in the United Kingdom between 1893 and 1974 and in the Irish Free State until 1947. Statutory rules and orders began with the Rules Publication Act 1893. Pri ...

governed by the Rules Publication Act 1893. Following the

2016 EU membership referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...

and the subsequent publication of the

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (also known as the Great Repeal Act) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides both for repeal of the European Communities Act 1972, and for parliamentary approval to be require ...

, there has been concern that its powers enabling ministers to issue statutory instruments under the bill may enable the government to bypass Parliament. Although this has been criticised by some as being undemocratic, draft regulations must be "laid before" Parliament, which may always demand a full debate on contentious issues.What are statutory instruments, and do they show “contempt for democracy”?
''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members o ...

Devolved administrations

Devolved administrations also have the power to make Statutory Instruments within the heads of powers that are devolved to them.

Wales

Wales Statutory Instruments made by the

Welsh Government , image = , caption = , date_established = , country = Wales , address = , leader_title = First Minister () , appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...

are published as a subseries of the UK statutory instrument series—for example, the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 (Commencement No. 3) Order 2017 is numbered ''2017No.714(W.171)'', meaning it is the 714th statutory instrument in the UK series and 171st in the Wales subseries.

Scotland

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, statutory instruments made by the Scottish Government were governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 following devolution until the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 came into force. Unlike Wales Statutory Instruments, Scottish Statutory Instruments are not published as a subseries of the UK series—instead, they are published separately by the

Queen's Printer for Scotland The King's Printer (known as the Queen's Printer during the reign of a female monarch) is typically a bureau of the national, state, or provincial government responsible for producing official documents issued by the King-in-Council, Ministers of ...

. However, any UK statutory instruments dealing with

reserved matter In the United Kingdom, devolved matters are the areas of public policy where the Parliament of the United Kingdom has devolved its legislative power to the national assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while reserved matte ...

s and applying only to Scotland are published in a UK subseries, such as the Insolvent Companies (Reports on Conduct of Directors) (Scotland) Rules 2016 numbered ''2016No.185(S.1)''.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

, delegated legislation is organised into statutory rules, rather than statutory instruments.

Ireland

In the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

the term "statutory instrument" is given a much broader meaning than under the UK legislation. Under the Statutory Instruments Act 1947 a statutory instrument is defined as being "an order, regulation, rule, scheme or bye-law made in exercise of a power conferred by statute". However, only certain statutory instrument are published and numbered by the Stationery Office, this being mostly where the statute enabling the enactment of delegated legislation required that any such legislation be laid before the Houses of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The two houses of the Oireachtas ( ga, Tithe an Oireachtais): **Dáil Éireann ...

United States

Two close equivalents of similar operation are *

Executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of ...

s of the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

, which give instructions to various federal agencies on certain actions they are to take in various cases. They have the force of law, but are subordinate to primary legislation (i.e. acts of Congress) which may constrain their effect, and are also subject to judicial review. * Regulations of various government agencies (a form of

) are issued by those agencies regarding subjects those agencies have jurisdiction or responsibility over, or in response to statutes of Congress directing them to take responsibility over a particular subject or issue. They are published in the

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on fed ...

for public notice and comment before becoming valid, and unless objected to by Congress, become effective and have the force and effect of law.

Other countries

Similarly to the United Kingdom, national and state/provincial governments in Australia and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

also call their delegated legislation statutory instruments. Canada uses statutory instruments for

proclamations A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

by the King of Canada. For example, the Proclamation of the Queen of Canada on April 17, 1982 brought into force the

Constitution Act 1982 The ''Constitution Act, 1982'' (french: link=no, Loi constitutionnelle de 1982) is a part of the Constitution of Canada.Formally enacted as Schedule B of the '' Canada Act 1982'', enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 60 o ...

, the UK parts of which are known as the

Canada Act 1982 The Canada Act 1982 (1982 c. 11; french: Loi de 1982 sur le Canada) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and one of the enactments which make up the Constitution of Canada. It was enacted at the request of the Senate and House of ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

* Australia *
Rule Making by Commonwealth agencies
June 30, 2009 * Canada *
Consolidated Index of Statutory Instruments
March 31, 2011 * Republic of Ireland: *

— complete HTML text from 1922 to 2007 (searchable) *

— complete PDF text from 2007 to 2009, from Attorney General of Ireland website Statutory law Delegated legislation