Primary and secondary legislation

Primary legislation is enacted by a legislature; secondary legislation is made by ministers or other authorities under powers granted by primary legislation. The distinction separates direct lawmaking from delegated rulemaking.

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Enabling Act: A statute that grants an authority power to make secondary legislation. It is the primary legislation that supplies the authority and scope for delegated rules.
Act of Parliament: A UK statute enacted through the legislative process and given royal assent. It is a central UK example of primary legislation.
Statutory instrument (UK): A UK legal instrument through which ministers commonly exercise statutory powers. It is a widely used mechanism for secondary legislation in the United Kingdom.
Separation of powers: A constitutional principle that distributes government authority among separate branches. Delegation blurs the boundary between legislative and executive functions.
Statutory instrument: A formal UK instrument used by ministers to make or amend secondary legislation. It is a common UK form of delegated rules made under an enabling Act.
Regulations: Rules issued by an authorized body under powers conferred by law. Regulations commonly illustrate secondary legislation rather than direct enactment.
Code of Federal Regulations: The codification of general and permanent rules published by US federal executive departments and agencies. It collects federal rules made under authority delegated by Acts of Congress.
Parliamentary sovereignty: The principle that Parliament has supreme legal authority within the UK constitutional system. Delegated powers remain subject to the authority and limits set by Parliament.
Delegated legislation: Law made by an authority exercising powers delegated by a legislature. It names the secondary-law side of this distinction.
Private member's bill: A bill introduced in a UK Parliament by a member who is not a government minister. It shows that primary legislation can originate outside government, even though Parliament must enact it.