Regulativas

Regulativas is a term used in several Romance-language contexts to refer to regulatory instruments that regulate activities and establish standards within a jurisdiction. The singular regulativa denotes a regulatory act issued by a government body, agency or court, and regulativas collectively describe the body of such rules. They complement statutes by detailing rules, procedures, thresholds and enforcement mechanisms.

In legal and administrative contexts, regulativas include regulations, decrees, resolutions, ordinances, circulars and directives that implement or specify statutory mandates. They may address areas such as environmental protection, labor relations, taxation, consumer safety or urban planning. Unlike primary legislation, regulativas typically do not create broad new legal regimes but operationalize them, fill gaps, or adapt them to changing conditions. They often have binding force on individuals and organizations subject to the regime.

The adoption process for regulativas usually involves drafting by a competent authority, possible public consultation or impact assessment, formal approval, and publication in an official gazette or registry. They may be revised or repealed as policies evolve and can be challenged before courts for legality or compatibility with higher normative sources.

In practice, regulativas are essential for the day-to-day functioning of the regulatory state: they translate abstract statutory goals into concrete requirements, timelines, penalties and compliance mechanisms. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with normative rules or regulations, though in some contexts normativa emphasizes general standards while regulativa stresses binding regulatory procedures.

See also: normativa, regulación, normativa técnica.