Adecreeis alegalproclamation,usually issued by ahead of state,judge,[1]royal figure,or other relevantauthorities,according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by theconstitution,Legislative laws,orcustomary lawsof agovernment.
Belgium
editInBelgium,a decree is a law of acommunity or regionalparliament,e.g. theFlemish Parliament.
Catholic Church
editA decree (Latin:decretum) in the usage of thecanon lawof theCatholic Churchhas various meanings. Anypapal bull,brief,ormotu propriois a decree inasmuch as these documents are legislative acts of thepope.In this sense, the term is quite ancient. TheRoman Congregationswere formerly empowered to issue decrees in matters which come under their particular jurisdiction but were forbidden from continuing to do so underPope Benedict XVin 1917.[2]Eachecclesiastical provinceand also eachdiocesemay issue decrees in their periodicalsynodswithin their sphere of authority.
While in a general sense all documents promulgated by an ecumenical council can be called decrees, in a specific sense some of these documents, as at theSecond Vatican Council,were called more precisely constitutions or declarations.[3]
Canon 29 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law defines general decrees:
General decrees, by which a competent legislator makes common provisions for a community capable of receiving a law, are true laws and are regulated by the provisions of the canons on laws.[4]
Holy See
editTheHoly Seeuses decrees from thepopesuch aspapal bull,papal brieformotu proprioas legislative acts.[5]
France
editThe worddécret,literally "decree", is an old legal usage in France and is used to refer to executive orders issued by the FrenchPresidentorPrime Minister.Any such order must not violate theFrench ConstitutionorCivil Code,and a party has the right to request an order be annulled in the FrenchCouncil of State.Orders must be ratified by Parliament before they can be modified into legislative Acts. Special orders known asdécret-loi,literally "decree-act" or "decree-law",[6][7]usually considered an illegal practice under the 3rd and 4th Republic, were finally abolished and replaced by the regulations under the 1958 Constitution.
Except for the reserve powers of the President (as stated in Art. 16 of the 1958 Constitution, exercised only once so far), the executive can issue decrees in areas that the Constitution grants as the responsibility of Parliament only if a law authorizes it to do so. In other cases, orders are illegal and, should anyone sue for the order's annulment, it would be voided by the Council of State. There exists a procedure for the Prime Minister to issueordinancesin such areas, but this procedure requires Parliament's express consent (see Art 38 of the 1958 Constitution).
Orders issued by the Prime Minister take two forms:
- Orders (décrets simples);
- Orders-in-council (décrets en Conseil d'État), when a statute mandates the advisory consultation of theCouncil of State.
Sometimes, people refer todécrets en Conseil d'Étatimproperly asdécrets du Conseil d'État.This would imply that it is the Council of State that makes the decree, whereas the power of decreeing is restricted to the president or prime minister; the role of the administrative sections of the council is purely advisory.
Decrees may be classified into:
- Regulations,which may be:
- Application decrees (décrets d'application), each of which must be specifically authorized by one or morestatutesto determine someimplementationconditions of this or these statutes; these constitutesecondary legislationand are roughly equivalent to Britishstatutory instruments;
- Autonomous regulations (règlements autonomes), which may be taken only in areas where the Constitution does not impose statute law (passed by theLegislature); these constituteprimary legislation;
- Particular measures, such as the nomination of high-levelcivil servants.
Only the prime minister may issue regulatory or application decrees. Presidential decrees are generally nominations or exceptional measures where the law mandates a presidential decree, such as the dissolution of theFrench National Assembly,the calling of new legislative elections, and the grant of the titleMarshal of France.
Decrees are published in theJournal Officiel de la République Française(French Gazette).
Italy
editAccording to clause 77 of theItalian Constitution,
The Government may not, without an enabling act from the Houses [of Parliament], issue decrees having the force of ordinary law.
When in extraordinary cases of necessity and urgency the Government adopts provisional measures having the force of law, it must on the same day present said measures for confirmation to the Houses which, even if dissolved, shall be extraordinally summoned for this purpose and shall convene within five days.
The decrees lose effect from their inception if they are not confirmed within sixty days from their publication. The Houses may however regulate by law legal relationships arising out of unconfirmed decrees.
The effectiveness for sixty days produces the effects immediately, giving rights or expectations whose legal basis was precarious, especially when the conversion law never intervened.[8]
Portugal
editIn Portugal there are several types of decree (Portuguese:decreto) issued by the various bodies of sovereignty or by the bodies of local government ofautonomous regions.
As of 2022[update],there are the following types of decree:
- Decree-law (Portuguese:decreto-lei): is a legislative act issued by theGovernment of Portugalunder its legislative powers defined by Article 198 of thePortuguese Constitution;
- Regional legislative decree (Portuguese:decreto legislativo regional): is a regional law, issued by the legislative assembly of an autonomous region, within its powers defined by articles 227 and 233 of the Constitution;
- Decree of the President of the Republic (Portuguese:decreto do Presidente da República): is a decree issued by thePresident of Portugal,for the ratification of international treaties, the appointment or dismissal of members of the Government or to exercise other presidential powers defined in the Constitution;
- Decree (Portuguese:decreto): is an act issued by the Government of Portugal to approve an international agreement whose approval is not within the competence of theAssembly of the Republicor has not been submitted to it or within the Government administrative jurisdiction laid down in Article 199 of the Constitution in relation to a statute that requires this decree;
- Regulatory decree (Portuguese:decreto regulamentar): is an act issued by the Government of Portugal, under its administrative jurisdiction laid down in Article 199 of the Constitution, to make the necessary regulations for the proper execution of the laws and to take all actions and decisions necessary to promote economic and social development and to meet the community needs;
- Regional regulatory decree (Portuguese:decreto regulamentar regional): is an act issued by the legislature or the government of an autonomous region, regulating the proper implementation of regional legislative decrees;
- A decree from the representative of the Republic (Portuguese:decreto do representante da República): is the decree of appointment or removal of members of the government of an autonomous region, issued by the representative of the Republic for that region.
Iran
edit
According to article 110 of theconstitution,theSupreme Leaderdelineates the general policies of the Islamic Republic.
Russia
editAfter theRussian Revolution,a government proclamation of wide meaning was called a "decree" (декретdekret); a more specific proclamation was called anуказukaz.Both terms are usually translated as 'decree'.
According to theRussian Federation's 1993 constitution,anukazis a presidential decree. Such anukazhas the force of law, but may not alter the Russian constitution or the regulations of existing laws, and may be superseded by laws passed by theFederal Assembly.
TheGovernment of Russiacan also issue decreesformally called Decisions(ПостановленияPostanovleniyaor Orders (РаспоряженияRasporyazheniya) and may not contradict the constitution/laws or presidential decrees.
Saudi Arabia
editRoyal decrees, along with theSharia,are the sources of law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Spain
editIn Spain, decrees come in several forms:
Turkey
editThe decree law (Turkish:Kanun Hükmünde Kararname, KHK) in Turkey is a type oflegislative instrumentissued by thegovernment,based on the authority granted either by a specificenabling actfrom thelegislative bodyor directly from theConstitution.These decrees have the force of law in a material sense and acquire formal and organic legal power upon the approval of the parliament. According to Article 87 of the 1982 Constitution of Turkey, granting theCouncil of Ministersthe authority to issue decree laws on specific matters is included in the duties and powers of theGrand National Assembly of Turkey.[9]
Article 91 of the Constitution also regulates the issuance of decree laws. It states:
"The Grand National Assembly of Turkey may delegate the power to issue decree laws to the Council of Ministers. However, with the exception ofmartial lawandstates of emergency,thefundamental rights,individual rights and duties,andpolitical rights and dutieslisted in the first and second sections of the second part of the Constitution cannot be regulated by decree laws. "
Decree laws in Turkey are categorized into two types: ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary decree laws are issued by the Council of Ministers and require an enabling act from the Grand National Assembly. They cannot regulate fundamental rights, individual rights and duties, or political rights and duties. Extraordinary decree laws, on the other hand, are issued by the Council of Ministers under the presidency of thePresident.They do not require an enabling act from the Grand National Assembly and can regulate any area, provided they fulfill obligations arising frominternational law.Decree laws are subject to both political scrutiny by the parliament and judicial review by theConstitutional Court.[10]
Following the approval of the2017 constitutional amendment referendum in Turkeyand the2018 general elections,which led to the election of the President bypopular vote,Article 91 of the Constitution was repealed. With this change, decree laws were replaced by Presidential Decrees (Turkish:Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kararnameleri, CBK) in the new system.[11]
United Kingdom
editIn theUnited Kingdom,Orders-in-Council are either primary legislation deriving their authority from theroyal prerogative,promulgated by the Privy Council in the name of the Monarch; or secondary legislation, promulgated by a minister of the Crown using the authority granted by an act of Parliament or other primary legislation. Both are subject tojudicial review,the former with some exceptions.[12]
United States
editIn US legal usage, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, adecreewas an order of acourt of equitydetermining the rights of the parties to a suit, according to equity and good conscience. Since the 1938 procedural merger of law and equity in the federal courts under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the termjudgment(the parallel term in the common law) has generally replaceddecree.This is now true also in most state courts.[13]The termdecreeis broadly treated as synonymous withjudgment.[14]
A decree is often a final determination, but there are also interlocutory decrees. Afinal decreefully and finally disposes of the whole litigation, determining all questions raised by the case, and it leaves nothing that requires further judicial action; it is also appealable. Aninterlocutory decreeis a provisional or preliminary decree that is not final and does not fully determine the suit, so that some further proceedings are required before entry of a final decree.[15]It is usually not appealable, although preliminary injunctions by federal courts are appealable even though interlocutory.[16]
Executive orders,which are instructions from the President to the executive branch of government, are decrees in the general sense in that they have the force of law, although they cannot override statute law or the Constitution and are subject to judicial review. Governors of individual states may also issuestate executive orders.
See also
editNotes
edit- ^"decree".LII / Legal Information Institute.Retrieved2024-06-22.
- ^René Metz,What is Canon Law?
- ^"Documents of the Second Vatican Council".vatican.va.Retrieved2019-02-06.
- ^Canon 29,1983 Code of Canon Law;accessed 30 March 2016.
- ^"Decree".Catholic Encyclopedia.Retrieved2007-02-17.
- ^"decree-law"in the Random House Dictionary.
- ^"decree-law"in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
- ^Buonomo, Giampiero (2000)."Sanatoria del condono decaduto: a favore dei centri di recupero ma a rischio di incostituzionalità".Diritto&Giustizia Edizione Online.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-08-01.Retrieved2016-03-17.
- ^KAVLAKOĞLU, Erdoğan.KANUN HÜKMÜNDE KARARNAME KAVRAMI VE TÜRK ANAYASASINDA KANUN HÜKMÜNDE KARARNAMELERİN YERİ.Yüksek Denetleme Kurulu. Archived fromthe originalon February 6, 2006.
- ^TAN, Turgut.TÜRK HUKUKUNDA KANUN HÜKMÜNDE KARARNAME UYGULAMASI VE SORUNLAR.Ankara UniversitesiSiyasal Bilgiler Fakultesi, Ogretim Uyesi.
- ^Taşdöğen, Salih (2016-09-01)."Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kararnameleri".Ankara Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi.65(3): 937–966.doi:10.1501/Hukfak_0000001827.hdl:11424/258964.ISSN1301-1308.
- ^.Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 7 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 915.
- ^Lehman, Jeffrey; Phelps, Shirelle (2005).West's Encyclopedia of American Law, Vol. 4(2 ed.). Detroit: Thomson/Gale. p. 38.ISBN9780314201577.
- ^Matulewska, Aleksandra (1 June 2016)."Semantic Relations between Legal Terms. A Case Study of the Intralingual Relation of Synonymy".Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric.45(1): 161–174.doi:10.1515/slgr-2016-0022.S2CID123298982.
- ^Black's Law Dictionary Free Online Legal Dictionary 2d ed.
- ^Cornell Law School,Legal Information Institute.
References
edit- Executive decree authority,John M. Carey and Matthew Soberg Shugart, Eds., Cambridge University Press, 1998,ISBN0-521-59722-6
External links
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All external sites in French unless otherwise noted.