BharatNotes Delegated Legislation
noun (uncountable)Usage in a UPSC answer
The challenge to the delegated legislation issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, was upheld by the National Green Tribunal on the ground that the notification exceeded the scope of the parent Act's conferral of rule-making power.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
delegate (verb/noun), delegation (noun), delegatory (adjective), legislate (verb), legislation (noun), legislative (adjective)
Root
Latin delegare (to send as a deputy) ← de- (away) + legare (to send with a commission) + legis latio (law-making)
Etymology
Both elements are Latin. Delegated from delegare (to entrust to another); legislation from legis latio (the carrying/proposing of a law). The compound term crystallised in British constitutional law in the 19th–20th centuries as Parliament increased the volume of detailed rule-making it entrusted to executive bodies.
Memory Hook
DELEGATED = handed down (de- = down, away). Parliament DELEGATES (hands down) power to make rules. Like a boss delegating tasks: the task (law-making) is done by the subordinate (executive), not the boss (Parliament).
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Rules, regulations and orders made by the executive under authority conferred by a parent statute. It is unavoidable in a modern State because legislatures cannot supply technical detail for every subject, and that necessity is the starting point of any GS2 answer. The controls to name are the limits: delegated rules must stay within the parent Act, essential legislative policy cannot be delegated, and parliamentary committees plus judicial review supply the check.
Don’t Confuse It With
Delegated legislation is executive rule-making under statutory authority. Primary legislation is the Act of the legislature itself. An ordinance is executive law-making when the legislature is not in session, which is a different power. Ultra vires is the ground on which delegated legislation is most commonly struck down.
Hindi Meaning
प्रत्यायोजित विधान (pratyāyojit vidhān).
Common Questions
- What is delegated legislation?
- Rules and regulations made by the executive under powers granted to it by a parent Act of the legislature.
- What are the limits on delegated legislation?
- It must remain within the authority conferred by the parent Act, cannot decide essential legislative policy, and is subject to parliamentary scrutiny and judicial review.
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