Repealed

Repealed is the status of a law, regulation, or other legal instrument that has been officially revoked or abolished. When a provision is repealed, it loses its legal effect from the date specified in the repealing act, or, if not specified, from its passage. Repeal is distinct from amendment, which changes an existing provision, and from sunset provisions, which terminate by time.

Repeal can be total, removing the entire statute, or partial, rescinding specific sections while leaving others in force. It can be enacted by a legislative body, or, in some systems, through constitutional processes. In many jurisdictions, court decisions can also nullify laws by declaring them unconstitutional or incompatible with higher laws, effectively repealing them in effect.

The repeal process often includes transitional provisions to manage ongoing rights and obligations, such as pending cases, licenses, or penalties. Some laws include automatic sunset clauses, which provide for repeal after a set period unless renewed. Public policy shifts, changes in social conditions, or judicial rulings commonly motivate repeal.

Notable example: In the United States, the Eighteenth Amendment, which established nationwide Prohibition, was repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933, ending Prohibition. Other countries regularly repeal or replace laws to reflect new standards or regulatory approaches.

Origin and usage: The term arises from English legal vocabulary and has been used since the medieval period to describe formal revocation of legal instruments.

See also: Amendment, Codification, Sunset clause, Deregulation, Judicial review, Statutory repeal.