Repealing

Repealing is the formal act of rescinding or abolishing a law, regulation, or policy by a competent authority, thereby removing its legal effect. A repeal cancels enforceability going forward and can be applied to entire statutes, individual provisions, or administrative rules. Repeals are a common feature of statutory reform, constitutional revision, and administrative modernization in many legal systems.

Repeal mechanisms include expressed repeal, where a new law explicitly revokes an existing one, and implied repeal, where a later statute renders older provisions inconsistent or redundant. Repeals can be total, removing an entire statute, or partial, excising specific sections. They may occur through dedicated repeal acts, through broader reform or consolidation legislation, or as part of sunset provisions that end a rule after a set period. The process typically involves legislative approval and, in some jurisdictions, executive assent, though the exact steps vary by country. Some systems also rely on judicial decisions to invalidate or nullify laws in certain circumstances.

Effects and considerations of repeal include shifts in regulatory certainty, impacts on vested rights or ongoing enforcement, and the need for transitional arrangements to guide compliance during the changeover. Repeals can also reflect policy reversals, respond to obsolescence, or correct overbreadth in prior rulemaking. Notable examples include the repeal of Prohibition in the United States by the 21st Amendment and various statutory revisions in other democracies designed to remove outdated or conflicting provisions.