statute

A formal written enactment of a legislative body, whether federal, state, city, or county. An act of the legislature declaring, commanding, or prohibiting something; a particular law enacted and established by the will of the legislative department of government; the written will of the legislature, solemnly expressed according to the forms necessary to constitute it the law of the state. Such may be public or private, declaratory, mandatory, directory, or enabling, in nature.

For mandatory and directory statutes, see directory; mandatory statutes.

Depending upon its context in usage, a statute may mean a single act of a legislature or a body of acts which are collected and arranged according to a scheme or for a session of a legislature or parliament. This word is used to designate the legislatively created laws in contradistinction to court decided or unwritten laws.

See common law.

See also codification

- mandatory statutes

- revised statutes

- slip law

- slip law print

- special law.

- affirmative statute.

@ criminal statute

An act of the Legislature as an organized body relating to crime or its punishment.

See crime

@

- criminal law

- penal code

- penal laws

- declaratory statute

- enabling statute

- expository statute.

@ general statute

A statute relating to the whole community, or concerning all persons generally, as distinguished from a private or special statute. ;

@ local statute

See local law.

@ negative statute

A statute expressed in negative terms; a statute which prohibits a thing from being done, or declares what shall not be done.

@ penal statute

See crime

- criminal law

- penal code

- penal laws

- punitive statute.

@ perpetual statute

One which is to remain in force without limitation as to time; one which contains no provision for its repeal, abrogation, or expiration at any future time.

@ personal statutes

In foreign and modern civil law, those statutes which have principally for their object the person, and treat of property only incidentally. A personal statute, in this sense of the term, is a law, ordinance, regulation, or custom, the disposition of which affects the person and clothes him with a capacity or incapacity, which he does not change with every change of abode, but which, upon principles of justice and policy, he is assumed to carry with him wherever he goes. The term is also applied to statutes which, instead of being general, are confined in their operation to one person or group of persons.

See private law

- special law.

@ private statute

A statute which operates only upon particular persons, and private concerns. An act which relates to certain individuals, or to particular classes of men.

See private law

- special law.

@ public statute

A statute enacting a universal rule which regards the whole community, as distinguished from one which concerns only particular individuals and affects only their private rights.

See public law.

See also general statute.

@

- punitive statute

@ real statutes

In the civil law, statutes which have principally for their object property, and which do not speak of persons, except in relation to property.

@

- reference statutes.

@ remedial statute

See remedial laws or statutes.

@

- revised statutes

@ special statute

One which operates only upon particular persons and private concerns. A private statute. Distinguished from a general or public statute.

See special law

@ statute fair

In old English law, a fair at which laborers of both sexes stood and offered themselves for hire; sometimes called also "Mop."

@ statute-merchant

In old English law, a security for a debt acknowledged to be due, entered into before the chief magistrate of some trading town, pursuant to the statute 13 Edw. I, De Mercatoribus, by which not only the body of the debtor might be imprisoned, and his goods seized in satisfaction of the debt, but also his lands might be delivered to the creditor till out of the rents and profits of them the debt be satisfied. Now fallen into disuse

@ statute of accumulations

In old English law, the statute 39 & 40 Geo. Ill, c. 98, forbidding the accumulation, beyond a certain period, of property settled by deed or will

@ statute of allegiance de facto

An act of 11 Hen. VTI, c. 1, requiring subjects to give their allegiance to the actual king for the time being, and protecting them in so doing

@ statute of distributions

See distribution

@ statute of Elizabeth

In old English law, the statute 13 Eliz., c. 5, against conveyances made in fraud of creditors

@

- statute of frauds

@ statute of Gloucester

In old English law, the statute 6 Edw. I, c. 1, A.D. 1278. It takes its name from the place of its enactment, and was the first statute giving costs in actions. 3 Bl.Comm. 399

@ statute of laborers

See laborer

@ statute of limitations

See limitation (statute of limitation).

@ statute of repose

"Statutes of limitations" extinguish, after period of time, right to prosecute accrued cause of action; "statute of repose," by contrast, limits potential liability by limiting time during which cause of action can arise. Kline v. J.I. Case Co., D.C.I11., 520 F.Supp. 564, 567.

It is distinguishable from statute of limitations, in that statute of repose cuts off right of action after specified time measured from delivery of product or completion of work, regardless of time of accrual of cause of action or of notice of invasion of legal rights. Universal Engineering Corp. v. Perez, Fla., 451 So.2d 463, 465

@

- statute of uses (use)

@ statute of wills

In old English law, the statute 32 Hen. VIII, c. 1, which enacted that all persons being seised in fee-simple (except femes covert, infants, idiots, and persons of non-sane memory) might, by will and testament in writing, devise to any other person, except to bodies corporate, two-thirds of their lands, tenements, and hereditaments, held in chivalry, and the whole of those held in socage. 2 Bl.Comm. 375

@ statute roll

A roll upon which an English statute, after receiving the royal assent, was formerly entered

@ statutes at large

An official compilation of the acts and resolutions of each session of Congress published by the Office of the Federal Register in the National Archives and Records Service. It consists of two parts, the first comprising public acts and joint resolutions, the second, private acts and joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, treatises, proposed and ratified amendments to Constitution, and Presidential proclamations. The arrangement is currently by Public Law number, and by chapter number in pre-1951 volumes. This is the official print of the law for citation purposes where titles of the United States Code have not been enacted into positive law

@ statutes of amendments and jeofailes

Formerly, statutes whereby a pleader who perceived any slip in the form of his proceedings, and acknowledged the error (jeofaile), was permitted to amend

@

- statute staple (See staple)

@ temporary statute

One which is limited in its duration at the time of its enactment. It continues in force until the time of its limitation has expired, unless sooner repealed. A statute which by reason of its nature has only a single and temporary operation-e.g. an appropriation bill-is also called a temporary statute.

@

- validating statute