Delegated legislation

• Delegated legislation(secondary legislation) - made by certain people or bodies other than Parliament but has permission from Parliament.
• Parent/Enabling act - creates the framework of general principles and grants or delegate power to others to fill in details.
• Enabling act is seen as "bare bones" of legislation and the detail is "flesh" is added by other bodies e.g. Local authorities
• 2 distinctions between primary legislation and secondary legislation:

  1. Parliament's power is unlimited, however the powers of the delegated legislator or limited by the enabling act
  2. Primary legislation cannot be declared invalid (annulled by the courts) however, delegated legislation can and is subject to judicial review.
• How enabling act works:

  
  

  Enabling Act - Person/body to make law - Resulting in Delegated legislation
• Primary legislation can be called the Parent Act because it has enabled new further laws to be made.
• How the enabling act works: 1. Enabling act

  Example of act passing power to the person/body e.g. (Enironment Act 1995 - general act to protect environment)
• How enabling act works: 2. Example of person/body to make law

  
  

  Example of person/body to whom such power to make law is passed. e.g. Secretary of state for Environment , Minister of agriculture
• How enabling act works: 3. Resulting in delegated legislation

  Example of type of delegated legislation that results from the process e.g. ( Hegderow regulations act 1997 - Technical laws that protect important environmental features)
• Enabling act still is an ordinary statute which contains the law for the certain topic but it also has the authority to pass (delegate) the power to others to make law.
• Examples of Enabling acts:

  1. Local Government act 1972: Allows local government to make bylaws
  2. Road traffic act 1988: Gives transport authority to make detailed regulations e.g. types of crash helmets required to be worn by motor cyclists
• Types of delegated legislation: Orders in council (only in emergencies)

  Made by the king and Privy council (PM and and cabinet). Allow the Government to make law without going through the full Parliamentary process.
• Orders in council

  Tyes of matters:

  • Bringing acts (some parts of it ) into force
  • Transfering responsibility between gov departments
  • Dissolve Parliament in readiness for General election
• Orders in council can make be made to make other types of law