pågældende

Pågældende is a Danish adjective used mainly in legal and administrative language to describe something that is currently in effect or applicable. It indicates that a rule, regulation, decision, or standard governs a situation at the present moment, as opposed to instruments that are proposed, repealed, or superseded. The term is commonly attached to nouns such as lovgivning (legislation), regler (regulations), praksis (practice), or forordning (regulation), producing phrases like pågældende lovgivning or pågældende regler.

In usage, pågældende emphasizes the version or set of provisions that applies to the matter discussed, potentially among several texts or over time. It is frequent in statutes, government reports, and court decisions. While gældende (in force, current) is a more general term, pågældende tends to be more formal and time-specific, signaling the currently applicable body of rules in a given context and often accompanied by a date to indicate when the version applies. The term is mostly found in Danish-language texts; in English translations it is often rendered as “the applicable” or “the current (in force)”. See also gældende so that readers understand the relationship between the two terms.