enactments

Enactment generally refers to the formal process by which a bill or proposal is transformed into a binding law or rule. The term is commonly used in legal contexts to describe both the act of creating statutory law and the resulting statute itself. Enactments can also refer more broadly to the implementation of plans, policies, or rituals, but in most jurisdictions the primary sense is legislative.

In legal systems with formal legislatures, an enactment is typically a statute or act enacted by the legislative body after a specified process. Once a bill is approved by the legislature and given assent by the head of state or the appropriate executive, it becomes an enactment and is published in official records or a gazette. The text then binds the public and authorities within its jurisdiction.

The enactment process generally includes proposal, committee review, debates, and votes in one or more chambers, followed by executive assent. Some systems require additional steps, such as ceremonial approval or the publication of the enacted text, before it takes effect on a specified date. In many countries, including those with parliamentary systems, administrative or delegated powers to create regulations are granted by enabling acts, resulting in secondary or delegated enactments.

Enactments can be primary legislation (acts or statutes) or subordinate rules (by-laws and regulations) enacted by local authorities or administrative agencies. They may be temporary, subject to amendment, or repealed by subsequent enactments. The interpretation of enactments is a fundamental aspect of statutory law and judicial review.

See also: statute, act, legislation, enabling act, royal assent, gazette.