delegated legislation

definition

laws passed in a specific area by a secondary body to which parliament has passed its power

types of delegated legislation

• orders in council

• statutory instruments/ministerial regulations

• by-laws

orders in council

passed by privy council, provides quick responses in emergency situations

statutory instruments

passed by government ministers, enables departments with expertise/responsibility in certain areas to deal with certain issues

by-laws

passed by local authorities/public corporations, deals with issues parliament doesn’t have time/local knowledge to deal with

parliamentary controls

• parent act

• affirmative resolution order (ARO)

• negative resolution order

• delegated powers scrutiny committee

• joint scrutiny commitee

parent act

parliament sets out instructions/powers for secondary bodies lawmaking

AROs

subjects drafted delegated legislation to parliamentary scrutiny before coming into force

negative resolution order

in absence of an ARO, parliament has 40 days to pass negative resolution order to prevent a statutory instrument from coming into force

delegated power scrutiny committee

considers provisions of bills going through parliament to delegate legislative power inappropriately

joint scrutiny committee

scrutinise SIs to see if they’re badly worded, attempting to impose taxation, or retrospective in effect

judicial controls on delegated legislation

• procedural ultra vires (UV)

• substantive uv

• wednesbury unreasonableness

ultra vires

latin ‘beyond the powers’. if judicial review finds delegated legislation to be uv, then it is void

procedural uv

judicial review states delegated legislation has failed to follow the ‘how instructions in parent act

substantive uv

judicial review states delegated legislation has gone beyond its powers

wednesbury unreasonableness

judicial review states delegated legislation is ‘outrageous in its defiance of logic’ - associated provincial picture houses ltd v wednesbury corporation