Primary and secondary legislation

Two forms of law in democracies

Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation, subordinate legislation or legislative instrument) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democracies. Primary legislation generally consists of statutes, also known as "acts", that set out broad principles and rules, but may delegate specific authority to actors within the executive branch to make more specific laws under the aegis of the principal act. Those actors can then issue secondary legislation (often by order-in-council in parliamentary systems, or by regulatory agencies in presidential systems), creating legally enforceable regulations and the procedures for implementing them.

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