Delegated Legislation: Meaning, Characteristics, Needs and Criticisms (2023)

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What is delegated legislation?

The Constitution of India gives the legislature the power to make laws for the country and it is the executive to administer and execute the laws made by the legislature. This is consistent with the doctrine of separation of powers. Often, however, laws are enacted that contain provisions authorizing the executive, or specific bodies or officials, or the judiciary to issue regulations or other forms of acts which, if properly drafted, have the force of law. This legal form is referred to as "delegated legislation", "derivative legislation", "secondary legislation" or "legislative acts". Another definition is that legislation by a legislative or local authority or body other than the legislature, but subject to the authority of the relevant legislature, is referred to as delegated legislation. Delegated legislation has the same legal force as the Act of Parliament which created it.

This agreement appears to represent a serious violation of the doctrine of separation of powers, which was largely preserved through a system of parliamentary control of the executive legislative process. In short, delegated legislation means the exercise of legislative powers by an authority subordinate to the legislature. This lower body is empowered by legislative act. Power is transferred through the mechanism of delegation from the main legislature to the lower body, which may be the executive, the cabinet, the Cabinet or a specific administrative body.

Regulations and statutory regulations are the most common forms of delegated legislation. They are issued by the executive or a minister and apply to the general population. Laws and sometimes regulations are made by a local government agency and apply to the people living in that area. The rules generally describe the procedure to be followed in court.

Under section 129 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), the various High Courts are empowered to repeal, amend or add to any rule contained in the Civil Procedure Code.

Characteristics of delegated legislation:

• These are laws made by persons or bodies to whom Parliament has delegated legislative powers.
• They are enacted in accordance with the principal Act of Parliament, which provides for the making of subsidiary laws and which is empowered to do so by that Act.
• Required to activate or run the parent
• It includes many of the administrative details needed to ensure that the provisions of the Act operate successfully.
• It can be administered by government agencies, local councils or courts

EmDevi Das Gopal Krishan Gopal Krishan State of Punjab, AIR 1967 SCCase, Subba Rao, CJ. Another justification for delegated legislation was that the Constitution gives the legislature the power and duty to legislate, but given the multifaceted nature of a welfare state's activities, it is unlikely that all the details can be examined to do justice to various aspects. of a welfare state to become a state. complicated situation. Inevitably, the legislature must delegate the working out of the details to the executive or some other agency.

EmDS Gear κατά DS Gear UNS. 1959 AR SC 512Fall, The court ruled that Article 312 of the Constitution of India governs the powers of delegated legislation. Justice KN Wanchoo noted, "There is nothing in the words of Article 312 which overrides the ordinary power of authorization ordinarily vested in the legislature."

EmRaj Narain Singh v. Chairman, Patna Management Committee, AIR 1954 SC 569In that case, section 3(1)(f) of the Bihar and Orissa Act empowered the local government to extend the provisions of any section of the Act (Bengal Municipality Act, 1884) to Patna, subject to any amendment want to set. The government passed section 104 and implemented it in Patna city after amendments. One of the key features of the law was the provision that no taxing municipality could impose a tax on a locality without giving its residents an opportunity to be heard and object. Sections that provided an opt-out option have been excluded from the notification. It was considered a violation of legislative policy.

EmJ.K. Industries Limited vs. Union of India, (2007) 13 SCC 673Fall,The Supreme Court explained the limitations of delegated legislation by noting that while the legislature has broad delegation powers, it cannot delegate uncontrolled powers and these are limited by statutory directives and guidelines.

Delegated Necessary Harm Legislation

Criticisms of delegated legislation:

MaximumPower cannot be delegatedThis means that a representative cannot further delegate his authority, i.e. H. the original authority cannot be delegated again. The main constitutional objection raised against the delegation of powers to executive bodies was the doctrine of non-delegable powers, which states that powers vested in one branch cannot be further delegated to another. People choose their representatives based on their suitability, knowledge and ability to represent their interests. Therefore, it is a generally accepted rule that this popular mandate cannot be delegated to any other person or entity not directly related to the people. The US Supreme Court found that the doctrine of separation of powers was held to be a fundamental principle of the Constitution and that powers vested in one department may be exercised exclusively by that department without interfering with the powers of any other department. The criticism of delegated legislation is as follows:

• Delegated legislation allows authorities other than the legislature to make and amend laws, resulting in overlapping roles.
• It is subject to less scrutiny and less parliamentary scrutiny, which can lead to inconsistencies in legislation.
• It goes against the spirit of democracy as over-empowered laws are made by unelected people.
• Laws made by a statutory authority are not communicated to the public, so delegated legislation often suffers from a lack of publicity.

Need for delegated legislation

1. It allows the government to make a law without having to wait for a new law to be passed by Parliament.
2. This saves time and avoids overloading Parliament. Parliament confers the power to amend and/or make delegated legislation without the need for an Act to be passed in Parliament. While the long process of passing the law is delayed, you bypass Parliament and save time. At the same time, resources are saved.
3. The municipality often knows correctly and objectively the location of the property. Thus, the local authority can make laws according to the needs of their area. Delegated legislation thus allows for laws to be made by people with relevant expertise.
4. Delegated legislation is very important in dealing with an emergency as soon as it arises, without having to wait for legislation to be passed in Parliament to resolve the situation.
5. A situation often arises which Parliament did not foresee at the time of passing the law. In this case, delegated legislation can be used to fill gaps in the law.
6. It provides the power to amend or add penalties under a particular Act or to make technical changes relating to the Act.
7. This allows the government to respond to the changing needs of society as quickly as possible.

EmArvinder Singh v. Bundesstaat Punjab, AIR A1979 SC 321In that case, Justice Krishna Iyer opined that the complexity of modern administration is so complex and full of detail, urgency, difficulty and need for flexibility that our vast legislature may not escape when dealing directly and comprehensively with legislative matters. The delegation of completeness, diffusion and specialization of part of the legislative power becomes an obsessive necessity of viability.

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