From en.wikipedia.org:
[Edict or proclamation usually issued by a head of state] A DECREE is a legal
proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge,[1] royal figure, or
other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures
are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary laws
of a government.
** Belgium
[Decree (Belgium)] In Belgium, a decree is a law of a community or regional
parliament, e.g. the Flemish Parliament.
** Catholic Church
[canon law] [Decree (canon law)] [Decretal] A decree (Latin: _decretum_) in
the usage of the canon law of the Catholic Church has various meanings. Any
papal bull, brief, or motu proprio is a decree inasmuch as these documents are
legislative acts of the pope. In this sense, the term is quite ancient. The
Roman Congregations were formerly empowered to issue decrees in matters which
come under their particular jurisdiction but were forbidden from continuing to
do so under Pope Benedict XV in 1917.[2] Each ecclesiastical province and also
each diocese may issue decrees in their periodical synods within 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 the
Second Vatican Council, were called more precisely constitutions or
declarations.[3]
Canon 29 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law defines general decrees:
{{blockquote|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
[Law of Vatican City] [Canon law (Catholic Church)] The Holy See uses decrees
from the pope such as papal bull, papal brief or motu proprio as legislative
acts.[5]
** France
[Politics of France] The word [fr], literally "decree", is an old legal usage
in France and is used to refer to executive orders issued by the French
President or Prime Minister. Any such order must not violate the French
Constitution or Civil Code, and a party has the right to request an order be
annulled in the French Council of State. Orders must be ratified by
Parliament before they can be modified into legislative Acts. Special orders
known as [fr], 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
issue ordinances in 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 ( [fr] );
- Orders-in-council ( [fr] ), when a statute mandates the advisory consultation of the Council of State .
Sometimes, people refer to [fr] improperly as [fr]. 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:
- Regulation s, which may be:
- Application decrees ( [fr] ), each of which must be specifically authorized by one or more statute s to determine some implementation conditions of this or these statutes; these constitute secondary legislation and are roughly equivalent to British statutory instruments ;
- Autonomous regulations ( [fr] ), which may be taken only in areas where the Constitution does not impose statute law (passed by the Legislature ); these constitute primary legislation ;
- Particular measures, such as the nomination of high-level civil 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 the French
National Assembly, the calling of new legislative elections, and the grant of
the title Marshal of France.
Decrees are published in the [fr] (_French Gazette_).
** Italy
[Law of Italy] According to clause 77 of the Italian Constitution,
{{blockquote| 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
[Law of Portugal] In Portugal there are several types of decree ([pt]) issued
by the various bodies of sovereignty or by the bodies of local government of
autonomous regions.
[2022], there are the following types of decree:
1. Decree-law ( [pt] ): is a legislative act issued by the Government of Portugal under its legislative powers defined by Article 198 of the Portuguese Constitution ;
2. Regional legislative decree ( [pt] ): 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;
3. Decree of the President of the Republic ( [pt] ): is a decree issued by the President 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;
4. Decree ( [pt] ): is an act issued by the Government of Portugal to approve an international agreement whose approval is not within the competence of the Assembly of the Republic or 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;
5. Regulatory decree ( [pt] ): 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;
6. Regional regulatory decree ( [pt] ): is an act issued by the legislature or the government of an autonomous region, regulating the proper implementation of regional legislative decrees;
7. A decree from the representative of the Republic ( [pt] ): 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
According to article 110 of the constitution, the Supreme Leader delineates
the general policies of the Islamic Republic.
** Russia
[Decree of the President of Russia] After the Russian Revolution, a government
proclamation of wide meaning was called a "decree" ([ru] [ru]); a more
specific proclamation was called an _Ukase_ [ru] [ru]. Both terms are usually
translated as 'decree'.
During the Soviet Union's existence, governmental proclamations issued by the
Government of the Soviet Union as well as proclamations issued by the Central
Committee of the Communist Party were called Decisions ([ru] [ru] and in some
cased joint resolutions were issued.
According to the Russian Federation's 1993 constitution, an [ru] is a
presidential decree. Such an [ru] has 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 the Federal Assembly.
The Government of Russia can also issue decrees formally called Decisions
([ru] [ru] or Orders ([ru] [ru]) and may not contradict the constitution/laws
or presidential decrees.
** Saudi Arabia
Royal decrees, along with the Sharia, are the sources of law in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia.
** Spain
In Spain, decrees come in several forms:
- Royal decree
- Royal Decree-Law
- Royal Legislative Decree
** Turkey
The decree law (Turkish: _Kanun Hükmünde Kararname, KHK_) in Turkey is a type
of legislative instrument issued by the government, based on the authority
granted either by a specific enabling act from the legislative body or
directly from the Constitution. 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 the Council of Ministers the authority to issue decree laws on
specific matters is included in the duties and powers of the Grand National
Assembly of Turkey.[9]
Article 91 of the Constitution also regulates the issuance of decree laws. It
states:<blockquote>"The Grand National Assembly of Turkey may delegate the
power to issue decree laws to the Council of Ministers. However, with the
exception of martial law and states of emergency, the fundamental rights,
individual rights and duties, and political rights and duties listed in the
first and second sections of the second part of the Constitution cannot be
regulated by decree laws."</blockquote>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 the
President. They do not require an enabling act from the Grand National
Assembly and can regulate any area, provided they fulfill obligations arising
from international law. Decree laws are subject to both political scrutiny by
the parliament and judicial review by the Constitutional Court.[10]
Following the approval of the 2017 constitutional amendment referendum in
Turkey and the 2018 general elections, which led to the election of the
President by popular 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
[Order-in-Council] In the United Kingdom, Orders-in-Council are either primary
legislation deriving their authority from the royal 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 to judicial
review, the former with some exceptions.[12]
** United States
[Law of the United States] In US legal usage, during the 19th and early 20th
centuries, a DECREE was an order of a court of equity determining 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 term _judgment_ (the parallel term in
the common law) has generally replaced _decree_. This is now true also in
most state courts.[13] The term _decree_ is broadly treated as synonymous with
_judgment_.[14]
A decree is often a final determination, but there are also interlocutory
decrees. A _final decree_ fully 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. An _interlocutory
decree_ is a provisional or preliminary order that determines issues of fact
or law in advance of a final decree, but leaves other issues to be resolved
and thus does not resolve the litigation.[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
issue state executive orders.
** Ukraine
[Law of Ukraine] [langcode=uk ]
In Ukraine, decrees issued by the president are a major source of legal acts.
Decrees are referred to as [uk] ([uk]; [sing.] [uk]).
** See also
- Consent decree
- Edict
- Fatwa
- Firman
- Official Communications of the Chinese Empire
- Memorial to the throne
- Proclamation
- Rule by decree
- Rescript
- Soviet Decree
- Ukase
** Notes
References:
[1]. [title=decree ]
[2]. René Metz, _What is Canon Law?_
[3]. [url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm]
[4]. Canon 29 (see http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P4.HTM) , 1983 Code of Canon Law ; accessed 30 March 2016.
[5]. [access-date=2007-02-17]
[6]. "decree-law" (see http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/decree-law) in the Random House Dictionary.
[7]. "decree-law" (see http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decree-law) in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
[8]. [last1=Buonomo]
[9]. [last=KAVLAKOĞLU ]
[10]. [last=TAN ]
[11]. [last=Taşdöğen ]
[12]. [wstitle= Decree ]
[13]. [last1=Lehman ]
[14]. [last1=Matulewska ]
[15]. [last1=Brunsman ]
[16]. Cornell Law School (see https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/preliminary_injunction) , Legal Information Institute.
** References
- _Executive decree authority_ , John M. Carey and Matthew Soberg Shugart, Eds., Cambridge University Press, 1998, [0-521-59722-6]
** External links
[Decrees]
_All external sites in French unless otherwise noted._
- 1946 Constitution of the 4th Republic (see http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/la-constitution/les-constitutions-de-la-france/constitution-de-1946-ive-republique.5109.html)
- 1958 Constitution of the 5th Republic (see http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/la-constitution/la-constitution-du-4-octobre-1958/texte-integral-de-la-constitution-de-1958.5074.html)
[Law]
[Authority control]
Category:Sources of law