Delegated Acts as Secondary Sources of Law

Abstract

Bogdanoskaya Irina - Professor, Department of Theory of Law and Comparative Law, Na­tional Research University Higher School of Economics, Doctor of Juridical Sciences. Address: 20 Myasnitskaya Str., Moscow, 101000, Russian Federation. E-mail: ibogdanovskaya@hse.ru.

For comparative law studies sources of law are of special interest. They are taken into account when classifying national legal systems. Delegated legislation as a source of law in common law countries has a number of features characterizing this system. Though the source is known to all common law countries, it has a number of differences. The article reveals a special character of delegated laws and their role in contemporary law. The role of statutory law including the proportion of delegated acts is increasing currently in the legal family of common law based on case precedent. The legal doctrine differentiates primary sources of law (cases and statutes) which historically do not depend on other sources and secondary sources including delegated acts. The conception of delegating powers and delegated laws differs in the common law countries. From this position, parliaments have unlimited lawmaking authorities which may be delegated to other state bodies. Other countries have accepted this doctrine to the extent to which they recognize the principle of parliamentary rule and separation of powers. The system of sources has been evolving gradually within legal family. Nowadays, statutes and delegated acts belong to statutory law which being the written law counterbalances the unwritten one (case law). Despite the statutes have a significant legal force, delegated acts influence them. The development of skeleton, framework legislation contributes to strengthening the positions of the delegated legislation. The secondary nature of delegated acts is confirmed with various forms of control (legislative, executive and judicial). The control is being administered to adopt delegated acts within their powers (intra vires).