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., ...
, a slip law is an individual
Act of Congress which is either a
public law (Pub.L.) or a
private law
Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the '' jus commune'' that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts and torts (as it is called in the common law), and the law of obligations ...
(Pvt.L.). They are part of a three-part model for
publication of
federal statute
In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of th ...
s consisting of slip laws,
session law
Session laws are the collection of statutes enacted by a legislature during a single session of that legislature, often published following the end of the session as a bound volume. The United States Statutes at Large are an example of session l ...
s, and
codification. Session laws are compiled into the ''
Statutes at Large
''Statutes at Large'' is the name given to published collections or series of legislative Acts in a number of jurisdictions.
The expression "statutes at large" was first used in the edition of Barker published in 1587.
England and Great Britain ...
'' (Stat.), and codification results in the
United States Code (U.S.C.).
Public and private laws are prepared and published by the
Office of the Federal Register
The Office of the Federal Register is an office of the United States government within the National Archives and Records Administration.
The Office publishes the ''Federal Register'', ''Code of Federal Regulations'', ''Public Papers of the Presid ...
(OFR) of the
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...
(NARA).
At the end of a Congressional session, slip laws are compiled into the ''
Statutes at Large
''Statutes at Large'' is the name given to published collections or series of legislative Acts in a number of jurisdictions.
The expression "statutes at large" was first used in the edition of Barker published in 1587.
England and Great Britain ...
'', which are called "session laws", published by the
Government Printing Office (GPO).
Today, most of the public laws, but not private laws, are drafted as amendments to the
United States Code.
See also
* ''
United States Statutes at Large''
* ''
United States Code''
References
{{reflist
Further reading
"Slip Laws"from ''Federal Statutes: A Beginner's Guide'' at the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
External links
Public and Private Laws(1995–present) at Govinfo (U.S. Government Publishing Office)
Public Laws(1951–present) at
Congress.gov
Congress.gov is the online database of United States Congress legislative information. Congress.gov is a joint project of the Library of Congress, the House, the Senate and the Government Publishing Office.
Congress.gov was in beta in 2012, a ...
Private Laws(1951–present) at Congress.gov
American legal terminology
Legal research
Statutory law
United States federal legislation