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Legislation is the process or product of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating law by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body.[1] Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to as "legislation" while it remains under consideration to distinguish it from other business. Legislation can have many purposes: to regulate, to authorize, to outlaw, to provide (funds), to sanction, to grant, to declare, or to restrict. It may be contrasted with a non-legislative act by an executive or administrative body under the authority of a legislative act.[2]


Legislation to design or amend a bill requires identifying a concrete issue in a comprehensive way.[3] When engaging in legislation, drafters and policy-makers must take into consideration the best possible avenues to address problem areas.[4] Possible solutions within bill provisions might involve implementing sanctions, targeting indirect behaviors, authorizing agency action, etc.[5]

Legislation is usually proposed by a member of the legislature (e.g. a member of Congress or Parliament), or by the executive, whereupon it is debated by members of the legislature and is often amended before passage. Most large legislatures enact only a small fraction of the bills proposed in a given session.[6] Whether a given bill will be proposed is generally a matter of the legislative priorities of the government.

Legislation is regarded as one of the three main functions of government, which are often distinguished under the doctrine of the separation of powers. Those who have the formal power to create legislation are known as legislators; a judicial branch of government will have the formal power to interpret legislation (see statutory interpretation); the executive branch of government can act only within the powers and limits set by the law, which is the instrument by which the fundamental powers of government are established.[7]


Public participation in legislation[edit]


Dead letter[edit]

The term "dead letter" refers to legislation that has not been revoked, but that has become inapplicable or obsolete, or is no longer enforced.[9]

See also[edit]


  3. ^ Kealy, Sean. "African Parliamentary Knowledge Network Legislative Handbook: Using Evidence to Design and Assess Legislation" (PDF).
  6. ^ Senate.gov
  7. ^ https://db0nus869y26v.cloudfront.net/en/Legislation[bare URL]
  9. ^ Dead Letter

External links[edit]