Introduction
In a world where politics is all around and influencing the lives of millions. The misuse of power by some legislators has been a concern. Governing of a country must be in the right hands. The supreme authority as well as the subordinate authorities must not misuse their powers. Successful implementation of law and repealing of old laws by legislators is a need. To ensure the smooth functioning of a country different organs of government needs to hold their hands together. This article has focused on explaining the concept of ‘legislation’ and its various types.
Legislation
The word ‘Legislation’ is derived from Latin word ‘legis’ means ‘law and ‘latum’ means making. So, the word ‘Legislation’ means making of the law. The legislation refers to the making of the law by the authorised body. This legislative body has the power to make law, amend the law, repeal any law and enact the laws. Effective legislation is must for the working of the country. In India, the legislative power is divided under union list, state list and concurrent list. The drafting of laws is a work of responsibility as it involves the entire nation and also could attract worldwide criticism if the law is unconstitutional thus hampering the status of the country. If the Supreme Court directs any authority to frame certain policy or gives any judgment laying down the regulations to be followed, such judgement would also be considered as legislation.
According to Salmond: “Legislation is that source of law which comprises in the assertion of lawful standards by a competent specialist.”
According to John Austin, “Legislation is the command of the sovereign or the superior authority which must be followed by the common masses backed by sanctions”.
Types of Legislation
In India, there are two types of Legislation
- Supreme Legislation
- Subordinate legislation
- Autonomous Legislation
- Judicial Legislation
- Local Legislation
- Colonial Legislation
- Executive Legislation
Executive Legislation is also known as delegated legislation.
Supreme Legislation
Supreme legislation is the law-making body of a country. It cannot be controlled by any other legislative authority. In India Parliament is the supreme legislative body. The Parliament of India has the power to make laws and is the supreme authority to make laws in India. There exists a system of checks and balances, that means if the Parliament makes any law inconsistent with the provision of the constitution, Supreme Court has the right to declare such law null and void.
The power to make laws is granted by the Constitution. This power is divided between different levels of government. The supreme level is the Parliament and the other is the subordinate level. When it comes to the making of law the Parliament has exclusive powers in drafting laws in major subjects. As per the Union List, the parliament has exclusive powers over 100 subjects (initially 97). Also, as per the concurrent list, the central and state has the authority to make their own laws over 52 subjects.[1] The supreme authority for law-making rests with the parliament. However, in UK, the court cannot intervene even if the decision by the British parliament is unconstitutional as the decision of parliament is considered as final.
Subordinate legislation
It was in the 19th and 20th CE when subordinate legislation started increasing.[2] When the supreme legislative authority directs the subordinate legislative authority to make the laws, the power granted to subordinates to make law is called subordinate legislation. Subordinate legislation is under Supreme Authority, Indian parliament controls and directs the subordinate. It would not be correct to say that subordinate legislation is an independent body, although it has the right to make laws for its state or local area but is under the control of the supreme body. Under this legislation, any authority could make law except Supreme Authority.
The classification of subordinate legislation –
Autonomous Legislation
When the supreme authority authorizes or grants power to a group of individuals to make laws on certain matters, such power granted to make law is called autonomous law and the body making such law is known as an autonomous body. Universities and Railway corporation are part of autonomous law. They are given the authority to make laws in their respective areas. The body under autonomous law could be public or private. The by-laws made by the autonomous body are recognized by the court of law. The universities across India are granted powers to make their own rules. Some universities are granted autonomous status and hence they work independently. There is no role of government in the decisions of universities. In the current situation, the universities may use their own strategies to normalize the affected education system of their university due to the pandemic.
Judicial Legislation
Judiciary is an important organ in any country. The role of the judiciary is to interpret the enacted laws and deliver the justice with fairness. Even the court of law follows the proper rules and regulations for its successful functioning. If the administration of any organ of government is not fair it could lead to distrust within the citizens. Supreme Court and High Court has the power to lay down rules and regulations to regulate the procedures. This power to lay down rules is the judicial power.
Local Legislation
The problems at local levels needs to be tackled with heavy hands as if the problems are solved at primary level, the burden on judiciary will be minimised and also the problems will not take serious turn. To address the problems of locals, Municipal bodies function at local level. It works in places with population exceeding one lakh. In India, such municipal bodies are Municipal corporations, Municipal Boards, Zila Parishads and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (the richest Municipal Corporation in India) etc. Municipal corporation was formed under the Corporation Act of 1835 of Panchayati Raj system.[3] The power is conferred on them by supreme legislation to make by-laws for their local areas. However, the power given to them is limited for making laws for their governance.
Colonial Legislation
The countries which are under control of some other state and are not independent to make laws such colonies lack sovereign power. Such countries known as colonies or dominions, do not have the supreme law-making body as they are the subordinate and the state under whose control the colony is, remains the supreme. India before independence had colonial legislation wherein, the laws made by Indians were not supreme as British were the supreme power in India and their laws were considered as the supreme. It was the British government who drafted The Code of Criminal Procedure and codes like Evidence Act (1872)[4] and Contracts Act (1872)[5]
Executive Legislation
For a diverse country to function efficiently, there should be different organs of government. There should be different authorities for handling of work. In India, there are 3 organs of government i.e., legislature, executive and judiciary. Legislature is the law-making body, executive is the law enforcing body and the judiciary interprets the laws. Each organ has its own function. The executive which performs the function of enforcing laws, can also sometimes makes the laws. For example, the president passing ordinances. The executive Legislation is also known as delegated legislation.
Delegated Legislation
Delegated legislation refers to the authority granted by the supreme legislation over the executives to make the laws. It is the power flowing downwards. Sometimes some matters are technical in nature that they require high level technical knowledge which may be absent in the parliament and so it moves towards delegated legislation. Also, formulating laws for locals needs has to be done by the executive body of that area as they are well aware of their problems so it becomes important to delegate them with the powers. However, delegated legislation is under the control of supreme authority to avoid misuse of the power.
Difference Between Supreme and Subordinate Legislation
- Supreme legislation can delegate subordinate to make a particular law whereas subordinate cannot delegate supreme legislation for making the law.
- Supreme legislation is the highest law-making body and no other legislative body can control it whereas subordinate legislation is under the control of supreme legislation.
- Supreme legislation flows from bottom to top as the subordinates are answerable to supreme authority and subordinate legislation flows from top to bottom as supreme authority delegates power to them.
Conclusion
Legislation considered as a source of law must be fair and all the legislative bodies at its level must function efficiently. It is the law of a country and its administration that decides where a country would be heading. Not only Supreme legislation is important but also there is equal importance of Subordinate legislation.
Subordinate legislation needs to be given adequate powers to witness positive growth in the country. Providing powers to local bodies is a must. The municipal bodies must not misuse their power. There must be a system of checks and balances to ensure fairness in the justice delivery system. Any loopholes in administration could affect the overall development of a country.
References
[1] Seventh Schedule of Indian Constitution
[2] What is Legislation and what are Kinds of Legislation?
[3] Elections.in, https://www.elections.in/government/municipal-corporation-in-india.html(last visited Sept 1,2021).
[4] Evidence Act, 1872
[5] Contracts Act, 1872
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