Delegated legislation or

secondary legislation Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

that is not enacted by a legislative assembly such as the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

, but made by a

government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

, a delegated person or an authorised body under powers given to them by an Act of Parliament. Statutory instruments are the most frequently used type of secondary legislation, with approximately 3,500 made each year, although only about 1,000 need to be considered by Parliament. They usually have either "Rules", "Order" or "Regulations" in their title. Secondary legislation is used for a wide variety of purposes such as fixing the date on which an Act of Parliament will come into force; setting fees for a public service; or establishing the details of an Act of Parliament. Delegated legislation is dependent on its parent act, which prescribes its parameters and procedures. Although a large volume of delegated legislation is written without close parliamentary scrutiny, there are statutory instruments to prevent its misuse.

Background

Delegated legislation is derived from its parent act, which prescribes its parameters and procedures. Delegated legislation saves parliamentary time by considering matters of technical detail. Such details are prepared by those with relevant expert knowledge. Through its inherent flexibility, delegated legislation accommodates changing circumstances such as changing fees for public services, developments in science or minor changes in government policy. Delegated legislation allows the rapid drafting of emergency powers. In comparison to acts of Parliament, which may take much time to pass, the flexibility of delegated legislation can be used to solve problems of governance in a timely way. Delegated legislation is effected by signature of the author or his authorized representative. In the case of the monarch, only his verbal assent is required. A statutory instrument related to the parent act is required to write delegated legislation. It ensures the legislation is catalogued and published by the

King's Printer 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 ...

. Exceptions are directions and by-laws where notifications are made to affected entities. Criticism of delegated legislation may arise because: # it is subject to a lesser degree of parliamentary scrutiny than acts of Parliament. # it may be used to remove from the scrutiny of the parliament matters that are causing difficulty for the government by designating them "matters concerning detail". # within the large volume of delegated legislation there may be little public knowledge of changes being made. However, the statutory instruments are in place to prevent misuse.

Types

Delegated legislation can take a variety of forms, each with different uses. The boundaries between the forms are not fixed. The types used will be determined by the wording of the parent Act. *

Orders in Council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

are made by the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

on the advice of the Privy Council (the Government). Orders in Council are used in matters of constitutional significance. An example is bringing into force emergency powers to be exercised by ministers. * Orders of Council are made by the lords of the Privy Council. They are used for regulation of professional bodies and the higher education sector. * Ministerial orders are made by ministers. *

Orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

exercise executive powers of government ministers. An example is the dissolution of a

public body A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, but they are corporations owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...

. Commencement orders set the date on which an Act, or part of an Act, comes into force. *

Regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

set out how an Act is to be implemented and are usually made by ministers. *

Rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pertaining to the structure or behavior internal to a business * School rule, a rule tha ...

set out procedures for operation of a government entity such as the

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

s or the

Patent Office A patent office is a governmental or intergovernmental organization which controls the issue of patents. In other words, "patent offices are government bodies that may grant a patent or reject the patent application based on whether the applicati ...

. Rules may be made by ministers or, if specified in the parent Act, a senior

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

. In

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, rules of court take the form of Scottish statutory instruments. Those regulating

civil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and regulations along with some standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or ca ...

are enacted by the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

and are called Acts of Sederunt. Those regulating

criminal procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...

are enacted by the

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary () is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff C ...

as Acts of Adjournal. Acts of Adjournal can modify

primary 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 democ ...

where it relates to criminal judicial procedure. * Schemes are made by commissions to proscribe how entities under their remit are governed. An example is the

Charity Commission The Charity Commission for England and Wales is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's Government that regulates registered charities in England and Wales and maintains the Central Register of Charities. Its counterparts in Scotland and ...

which supervises

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

s. * Directions are a means by which ministers give legally binding instructions to a public body about the way it exercises its functions. *

By-laws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authority. The higher authority, generally a legislature or some other ...

are laws of limited application (usually restricted to certain places) made by

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

or certain other bodies (for example,

train operating companies In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...

or the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

) to control the activities of the people in public spaces. * Northern Ireland statutory rules are a form of delegated legislation made by ministers in the

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive (Irish language, Irish: ''Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Executive'') is the devolution, devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branc ...

, or the

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...

during periods of

direct rule In political science, direct rule is when an imperial or central power takes direct control over the legislature, executive and civil administration of an otherwise largely self-governing territory. Examples Chechnya In 1991, Chechen separat ...

. Previously they were made by the

Government of Northern Ireland 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 is a ...

under Unionist rule. * Scottish statutory instruments are a form of delegated legislation made by ministers in the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

. * Welsh statutory instruments are a form of delegated legislation made by ministers in the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

Church of England instruments

The secondary legislation of the Church of England is known as "instruments". The procedure for the

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church ...

approving instruments is set out in the standing orders of the General Synod. After approval of the General Synod, the instruments are presented before Parliament, signed by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

and the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

. Sometimes they have a different date for when they are "made" and when they come "into force". So far they have only been used to commence

Church of England measures __NOTOC__ This is a list of Church of England measures, which are the legislation of the Church of England. Some of these measures may have been repealed. Since 1970, measures have been made by the General Synod; prior to then they were made by ...

Crown Dependencies

The Isle of Man has a similar system – the diocesan synod takes the place of the General Synod, Tynwald takes the place of Parliament and the

Bishop of Sodor and Man The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man (Manx Gaelic: ''Sodor as Mannin'') in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese only covers the Isle of Man. The Cathedral Church of St German where ...

takes the place of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. Similarly to instruments the United Kingdom, in the Isle of Man orders are presented by the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man to Tynwald so that to particular provisions of measures can be commenced. There is no equivalent for the Channel Islands – application of measures to the Channel Islands happens at Parliament. Previously this happened through statutory instruments rather than instruments. Currently the procedure has been modified through the Channel Islands Measure 2020 so it will occur directly in the measure and therefore the instrument that commences the measure.

Layout of official documents

A document which records delegated legislation will begin with a

preamble A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the su ...

. It describes the author of the legislation, the related parent Act and its preconditions and any stakeholders. The terms used in the document are determined by the type of delegated legislation it records. For instance, in orders, clauses are called "articles". Clauses may be grouped under headings and in complex delegated legislation, the document may be divided into parts. The main text is followed by any schedules and explanatory notes.

Controls

Delegated legislation is controlled by Parliament and the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. Parliamentary controls include "affirmative resolution procedures" where the legislation requires approval in both houses of parliament and "negative resolution procedures" where the legislation may be

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

ed by either house. By convention, the House of Lords will not veto but rather pass a motion to convey its concerns about the legislation. Judicial control of delegated legislation is exercised through

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

. Delegated legislation can be quashed by a

if it is found to be ''

ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act that requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...

'' (outside the parameters defined in the parent act). There are two types of ultra vires. In "substantive ultra vires", delegated legislation is deemed void because it goes beyond the powers defined in the parent act. In "procedural ultra vires", delegated legislation is deemed void because of some procedural deficiency. A court may also quash delegated legislation on the basis of unreasonableness.

References

{{UK legislation Laws in the United Kingdom United Kingdom administrative law