Delegated Legislation

Delegated Legislation

Delegated legislation is the result of law making powers under the Act

of Parliament, but it can be made under the royal

perogative.Parliament the superior body delegates power to the

inferior bodies which are the ministers, local goverments and courts

to make laws under their jurisdiction. Parliament passes the enabling

act or the parent act which confer law making power to these inferior

bodies.

There are three types of delegated legislation which are the orders in

council, by laws and statutory instruments. Orders in council are made

by the privy council which consists of the cabinet ministers, the

prime minister and the Queen. The privy council is called during

emergencies, when parliament is not actually sitting. This is because

in times of emergencies, it will take a long time for the members of

the House of Commons to reach and to make an immediate decision on the

matter. The privy council was given its power and limitations by a

parent act passed by parliament called the Emergency Powers Act. The

power of the privy council can be taken away at anytime by the

government because parliament is supreme.

The next type of delegated legislation is by-laws. By-laws can be made

by local authorities to cover matters in their own area and also can

be made by public corporations. Parliament passes the parent act that

allows these companies to pass delegated legislation. When public

corporations made law, it doesn't really cause a big problem because

the rules that are made, are to be followed when a person is in their

premises and using their services. By-laws can be annuled by the House

of Lo...

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...ated legislation to be void, there are

procedural ground and substantive ground. For procedural grounds, the

instrument is invalid because the minister has failed to follow the

procedure laid by the enabling act. In Agricultural, Horticultural and

Forestry Training Board v Aylesbury Mushrooms Ltd 1972, failure to

comply with a statutory requirement as to consultation resulted in the

order being declared invalid. While for the substantive ground, the

subordinate body has made law beyond their jurisdiction, and this will

cause the delegated legislation to be void. When this happened the

subordinate body must re-draf the law.

Hence, by choosing delegated legislation, it is an applicable system

that works well in our system today. It is the choice of two evil, and

by choosing delegated legislation, it is the lesser evil.