A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative body, a stage in the process of legislation . Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy . Statutes are laws made by legislative bodies; they are distinguished from case law or precedent , which is decided by courts , regulations issued by government agencies , and oral or customary law . Statutes may originate with the legislative body of a country, state or province, county, or municipality .
16-506: The Keating–Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 , also known as Wick's Bill , was a short-lived statute enacted by the U.S. Congress which sought to reduce child labor . It did so by prohibiting the sale in interstate commerce of goods produced by factories that employed children under 14, mines that employed children younger than 16, and any facility where children under 14 worked after 7:00 p.m. or before 6:00 a.m. or more than eight hours daily. After its original failure to be enacted,
32-407: A cross-border resource like water or other shared matters. In some cases, a federation is created from the union of political entities that are either independent or dependent territories of another sovereign entity (most commonly a colonial power ). In other cases, federated states have been created out of the administrative divisions of previously unitary states . Once a federal constitution
48-425: A defined geographic territory and is a form of regional government. A federated state may nonetheless establish offices internationally, for example, to promote trade or tourism, while still operating only within the trade policy or other applicable law of their federation, and their host country. They also may enter into international regional agreements under the laws of their federation and state, such as to protect
64-661: A degree of constitutionally guaranteed autonomy that varies substantially from one federation to another. Depending on the form the decentralization of powers takes, a federated state's legislative powers may or may not be overruled or vetoed by the federal government. Laws governing the relationship between federal and regional powers can be amended through the national or federal constitution, and, if they exist, state constitutions as well. In terms of internal politics, federated states can have republican or monarchical forms of government. Those of republican form (federated republics) are usually called states (like states of
80-466: Is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation . A federated state does not have international sovereignty since powers are divided between the other federated states and the federal government . Unlike international sovereign states , which have what is often referred to as Westphalian sovereignty (such as exercised by their federal government), federated states operate under their domestic or federal law with relation to
96-749: Is also used to refer to an International treaty that establishes an institution , such as the Statute of the European Central Bank , a protocol to the international courts as well, such as the Statute of the International Court of Justice and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court . Statute is also another word for law. The term was adapted from England in about the 18th century. In
112-597: Is derived from the late Latin word "statutum", which means 'law', 'decree'. In virtually all countries, newly enacted statutes are published and distributed so that everyone can look up the statutory law. This can be done in the form of a government gazette which may include other kinds of legal notices released by the government, or in the form of a series of books whose content is limited to legislative acts. In either form, statutes are traditionally published in chronological order based on date of enactment. A universal problem encountered by lawmakers throughout human history
128-407: Is formed, the rules governing the relationship between federal and regional powers become part of the country's constitutional law and not international law . In countries with federal constitutions, there is a division of power between the central government and the component states. These entities – states, provinces, counties, cantons, Länder, etc. – are partially self-governing and are afforded
144-416: Is how to organize published statutes. Such publications have a habit of starting small but growing rapidly over time, as new statutes are enacted in response to the exigencies of the moment. Eventually, persons trying to find the law are forced to sort through an enormous number of statutes enacted at various points in time to determine which portions are still in effect. The solution adopted in many countries
160-473: Is to organize existing statutory law in topical arrangements (or "codified" ) within publications called codes , then ensure that new statutes are consistently drafted so that they add, amend, repeal or move various code sections. In turn, in theory, the code will thenceforth reflect the current cumulative state of the statutory law in that jurisdiction. In many nations statutory law is distinguished from and subordinate to constitutional law . The term statute
176-668: The National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), it was signed into law in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson , who had lobbied heavily for its passage, and went into effect on September 1, 1917. However, nine months later, in Hammer v. Dagenhart , 247 U.S. 251 (1918), it was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States (see also Lochner era ). Statute The word "statute"
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#1732783353553192-464: The autonomous communities of Spain , an autonomy statute is a legal document similar to the constitution of a federated state , save that it is enacted by the national legislature, rather than the autonomous community it governs. The autonomy statutes in Spain have the rank of ley orgánica (organic law), a category of special legislation reserved only for the main institutions and issues and mentioned in
208-609: The Act. To enforce the Act, the Secretary of Labor would assign inspectors to perform inspections of workplaces that produce goods for commerce. The inspectors would have the authority to make unannounced visits and would be given full access to the facility in question. Anyone found in violation of this Act or who gave false evidence would be subject to fines and/or imprisonment. The bill was named for its sponsors: Edward Keating and Robert Latham Owen . The work of Alexander McKelway and
224-546: The bill was revised and re-introduced to Congress, where it was finally accepted. The basis for the action was the Commerce Clause , a constitutional clause giving Congress the task of regulating interstate commerce. The Act specified that the U.S. Attorney General , the Secretary of Commerce , and the Secretary of Labor would convene a board to publish from time to time uniform rules and regulations to comply with
240-518: The constitution (the highest ranking legal instrument in Spain). Leyes orgánicas rank between the constitution and ordinary laws. The name was chosen, among others, to avoid confusion with the term constitution (i.e. the Spanish constitution of 1978). Federated state A federated state (also state , province , region, canton , land , governorate , oblast , emirate , or country )
256-413: The rest of the world. Importantly, federated states do not have automatic standing as entities of international law. Instead, the federal union (federation) as a single entity is the sovereign state for purposes of international law. Depending on the constitutional structure of a particular federation, a federated state can hold various degrees of legislative, judicial, and administrative jurisdiction over
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