Legislation is the process or result of enrolling , enacting , or promulgating laws by a legislature , parliament , or analogous governing body . 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.
20-612: Venezuela is a federal presidential republic. The chief executive is the President of Venezuela who is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly of Venezuela. Supreme judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. Legislation can be initiated by the executive branch, the legislative branch (either
40-526: A committee of the National Assembly or three members of the latter), the judicial branch, the citizen branch ( ombudsman , public prosecutor , and controller general ) or a public petition signed by no fewer than 0.1% of registered voters. The voting age is 18, and voting is not compulsory . The president is elected by a plurality vote with direct and universal suffrage for a six-year term. A president may be re-elected perpetually (only in consecutive terms) as of 15 February 2009. The president appoints
60-400: A party to a lawsuit or to their attorney for violating rules of procedure , or for abusing the judicial process . The most severe sanction in a civil lawsuit is the involuntary dismissal , with prejudice , of a complaining party's cause of action , or of the responding party's answer. This has the effect of deciding the entire action against the sanctioned party without recourse, except to
80-405: A society organized for political action, the will of the people as a whole is the only right standard of political action. It can be regarded as an important element in the system of checks and balances and representative democracy. Therefore, the people are implicitly entitled even to directly participate in the process of law-making. This role of linking citizens and their government and legislators
100-513: Is closely related to the concept of legitimacy. The exercise of democratic control over the legislative system and the policy-making process can occur even when the public has only an elementary understanding of the national legislative institution and its membership. Civic education is a vital strategy for strengthening public participation and confidence in the legislative process. The term " dead letter " refers to legislation that has not been revoked, but that has become inapplicable or obsolete, or
120-600: Is no longer enforced. In more simpler terms, it means that the legislation is gone. There are several types of dead letter laws. Some laws become obsolete because they are so hateful to their community that no one wishes them to be enforced (e.g., slavery ). Similarly, some laws are unenforced because a majority wishes to circumvent them, even if they believe in the moral principle behind the law (e.g., prohibition ). Finally, some laws are unenforced because no mechanism or resources were provided to enforce them. Such laws often become selectively enforced or tacked onto other crimes in
140-404: 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
160-549: Is responsible for organizing elections at all levels. Its members are elected to seven-year terms by the National Assembly. Legislation Legislation to design or amend a bill requires identifying a concrete issue in a comprehensive way. When engaging in legislation, drafters and policy-makers must take into consideration the best possible avenues to address problem areas. Possible solutions within bill provisions might involve implementing sanctions , targeting indirect behaviors, authorizing agency action, etc. Legislation
180-403: Is sometimes used to include these situations, or the term primary legislation may be used to exclude these other forms. All modern constitutions and fundamental laws contain and declare the concept and principle of popular sovereignty, which essentially means that the people are the ultimate source of public power or government authority. The concept of popular sovereignty holds simply that in
200-427: 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 . Whether a given bill will be proposed is generally a matter of the legislative priorities of the government. Legislation
220-578: The United States federal court system , certain types of conduct are sanctionable under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure . Conversely (and sometimes contradictorily), the word may be used to mean "approve of", especially in an official context. For example, the statement "The law sanctions such behavior" would imply that the behavior spoken of enjoys the specific approval of law or legal institutions. To sanction implies to make
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#1732782822484240-628: The Vice President . The president decides the size and composition of the cabinet and makes appointments to it with the involvement of the National Assembly . There are currently 33 ministries and one state ministry. Each of these entities is headed by a minister. State Ministries: Former ministries include the Venezuelan Ministry of Infrastructure , which became the "Ministry of Public Works and Housing" and
260-550: The " Republican Moral Council " to submit to the Supreme Tribunal actions they believe are illegal, particularly those which violate the Constitution. The holders of the "citizen power" offices are appointed for seven-year terms by the National Assembly. The fifth of the five branches of government under Article 136 the 1999 Venezuelan constitution is headed by the National Electoral Council , which
280-579: The National Assembly and serve 12-year terms. The judicial branch also consists of lower courts , including district courts, municipal courts, and courts of the first instance. The citizens branch consists of three components – the prosecutor general ("fiscal general"), the Defender of the People (an ombudsman ), and the comptroller general . These officials of state, in addition to fulfilling their specific functions, also act collectively as
300-501: The National Assembly is not in session, its delegated committee acts on matters relating to the executive and in oversight functions. At various times throughout its history, Venezuela has had unicameral and bicameral legislative bodies. The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice , which may meet either in specialized chambers (of which there are six) or in plenary session. The 32 justices are appointed by
320-412: The degree that an appeal or trial de novo may be allowed because of reversible error . As a noun, the term is usually used in the plural form, even if it only refers to a single event: if a judge fines a party, it is not said that they imposed a sanction, but that they imposed sanctions. A judge may sanction a party during a legal proceeding, by which it is implied that they impose penalties. In
340-467: The judicial process. Sanctions (law) Sanctions , in law and legal definition, are penalties or other means of enforcement used to provide incentives for obedience with the law or other rules and regulations . Criminal sanctions can take the form of serious punishment , such as corporal or capital punishment , incarceration , or severe fines . Within the context of civil law , sanctions are usually monetary fines which are levied against
360-476: The powers and limits set by the law, which is the instrument by which the fundamental powers of government are established. The function and procedures are primarily the responsibility of the legislature. However, there are situations where legislation is made by other bodies or means, such as when constitutional law or secondary legislation is enacted. Such other forms of law-making include referendums , orders in council or regulations . The term legislation
380-520: Was merged with the Ministry of Finance to form the Ministry of Planning and Finance . The National Assembly has 165 seats. Members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. Each member may be re-elected for a maximum of ten additional terms. Three Assembly seats are by law reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela. National Assembly elections were last held on 6 December 2015. When
400-457: Was split into the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Ministry of Housing & Habitat in June 2010. The Ministry of Popular Economy became the "Ministry of Communal Economy" in 2007, and was merged into the Ministry of Communes and Social Protection on 3 March 2009, along with the Ministry of Participation and Social Protection. In February 2010 the Ministry of Planning and Development
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