Delegated Legislation

noun (uncountable)

/ˌdɛlɪˈɡeɪtɪd ˌledʒɪsˈleɪʃən/

Subordinate or secondary legislation made by an executive authority (Minister, statutory body, or local authority) under powers conferred by primary legislation (parent Act). In India, delegated legislation includes rules, regulations, bye-laws, notifications, and orders. The Supreme Court in In Re Delhi Laws Act (1951) upheld delegated legislation while holding that Parliament cannot abdicate its essential legislative function — the doctrine of excessive delegation (in pari materia with the US 'nondelegation doctrine').

✍️ 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

subordinate legislationsecondary legislationsubsidiary legislationexecutive rule-making

Antonyms

primary legislationparent Actplenary legislation

🌱 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).

⚖️ Polity & Constitution 📖 Seen in: Preamble of the Indian Constitution 📋 Also in Key Terms

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