Annex C - Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Assimilated Law | Assimilated law will be the name given to REUL which is in force after 2023 and which after the end of 2023 will no longer have the special features of REUL. The idea is that such law will be "assimilated" into domestic law on the sunset date by virtue of the fact it will be stripped of EU–derived interpretive effects (i.e., supremacy of EU law, directly effective rights, and general principles). The rules of interpretation which apply to assimilated law will be closer to the rules which apply to ordinary domestic law. |
| Act of Parliament | An Act of Parliament is a law that both Houses of Parliament have agreed to and has received Royal Assent. It is enforced in all the areas of the UK where it is applicable. |
| Bill | A proposal for a new law or an amendment to an existing law that has been presented to Parliament for consideration. Once agreed and made into law, it becomes an Act. |
| Codification | Codification refers to the process of placing law, legal principles or rules, that are currently not found in statute onto a statutory footing. The restatement and reproducing powers in sections 11 and 12 of the Act includes codification. This may be used to make regulations that codify (i.e. put in statute), law which is set out in retained case law or derived from rights etc. under section 4 EUWA. |
| Coming into force | The process by which an Act of Parliament, secondary legislation or other legal instrument comes to have legal effect. The law can be relied upon from the date on which it comes into force but not any sooner. Also known as commencement. |
| Consequential amendment | Consequential amendments refer to amendments made to relevant enactments as a result of a later Act or instrument. |
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Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) |
The CJEU is the chief judicial authority of the European Union and has jurisdiction to rule on the interpretation and application of EU treaties and legislation. In particular, the Court has jurisdiction to rule on challenges to the validity of EU acts, in infraction proceedings brought by the Commission against member states and on references from national courts concerning the interpretation of EU acts. The Court is made up of two subcourts: the General Court and the Court of Justice (which is sometimes called the ECJ). See Article 19 TEU and Articles 251 to 281 TFEU. |
| [EU] Decision | A legislative act of the EU which is binding upon those to whom it is addressed. If a decision has no addressees, it binds everyone. See Article 288 TFEU. |
| Devolution settlements | The constitutional arrangements governing which decision making responsibilities and legislation making powers have been devolved and the mechanisms through which these operate. |
| Devolved administrations | The governments of the devolved nations of the UK. These are the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. |
| Devolved competence | The areas in which the devolved legislatures are responsible for making laws (‘legislative competence’) or the devolved administrations are responsible for governing or making secondary legislation (‘executive competence’). |
| Devolved legislatures | The law making bodies of the devolved nations of the UK. These are the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru and the Northern Ireland Assembly. |
| [EU] Directive | A legislative act of the EU which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. Directives must be transposed into national law using domestic legislation, in contrast to regulations, which are enforceable as law in their own right. See Article 288 TFEU. |
| Draft affirmative procedure | Under the draft affirmative procedure a statutory instrument is laid before Parliament as a draft and cannot be made into law (signed by a Minister) unless a draft approved, following a debate, by theHouse of Commons and in most cases also the House of Lords. |
| Enactment | Defined in section 21 of the Act and includes any provisions in primary legislation (including an Act of Parliament) or an instrument made under such primary legislation, and retained direct EU legislation. |
| EU institutions | There are a number of EU bodies which are defined under the Treaties as EU institutions including the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission. |
| The EU Treaties (including TEU and TFEU) | The European Economic Community (EEC) was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957. This Treaty has since been amended and supplemented by a series of treaties, the latest of which is the Treaty of Lisbon. The Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, re-organised the two treaties on which the European Union is founded: the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community, which was re-named the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). |
| European Commission |
The Commission is the main executive body of the EU. It has general executive and management functions. In most cases it has the sole right to propose EU legislation. In many areas it negotiates international agreements on behalf of the EU and represents the EU in international organisations. And the Commission also oversees and enforces the application of Union law, in particular by initiating infraction proceedings where it considers that a member state has not complied with its EU obligations. See Article 17 TFEU and Articles 244 to 250 TFEU. |
| European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) | An international convention, ratified by the UK and incorporated into UK law in the Human Rights Act 1998. It specifies a list of protected Human Rights, and establishes a Court (European Court of Human Rights sitting in Strasbourg) to determine breaches of those rights. The Convention is a Council of Europe Convention, which is a different organisation from the EU. Article 6 TEU provides for the EU to accede to the ECHR, so that all member states are parties to the Convention. |
| European Council | The European Council defines the general political direction and priorities of the EU. It consists of the Heads of State or Government of the member states, together with its President and the President of the Commission. See Article 15 TEU and Articles 235 and 236 TFEU. |
| European Parliament | The European Parliament (EP) consists of representatives elected by Union citizens. The EP shares legislative and budgetary power with the Council, and has oversight over the actions of the Commission. See Article 14 TEU and Articles 223 to 234 TFEU. |
| Negative procedure | A statutory instrument subject to the negative procedure may be made (and become law) without having to be debated and approved by either House of Parliament, but may be annulled subsequently by either House of Parliament |
| [EU] Regulation | A legislative act of the EU which is directly applicable in member states without the need for national implementing legislation (as opposed to a directive, which must be transposed into domestic law by member states using domestic legislation). See Article 288 TFEU. |
| Retained Direct EU Legislation (RDEUL) | RDEUL is a subcategory of retained EU law (REUL) defined in section 20(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 as any direct EU legislation which forms part of domestic law by virtue of section 3 (as modified by or under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 or other domestic law). |
| Retained Direct Principal EU Legislation | A subset of RDEUL that derives from EU secondary legislation made under powers in the EU Treaties. (It therefore excludes EU "tertiary" legislation that was made under EU secondary legislation). It largely consists of EU regulations converted into domestic law on 1 January 2021. |
| Retained Direct Minor EU Legislation | A subset of RDEUL that includes retained EU decisions and retained EU tertiary legislation. EU tertiary legislation includes EU delegated acts and EU implementing acts, such as provisions made under an EU regulation, under an EU decision, or under an EU directive. |
| Retained Case Law | Retained case law means retained EU case law and retained domestic case law. |
| Retained EU Case Law | Principles laid down by, and any decisions of, the European Court of Justice, as they have effect in EU law immediately before IP Completion Day (11pm on 31 December 2020) and so far as they relate to retained EU law established under EUWA as those principles and decisions are modified by domestic law from time to time. |
| Retained Domestic Case Law | Principles laid down by, and any decisions of, a court or tribunal in the United Kingdom, as they have effect immediately before IP Completion Day (11pm on 31 December 2020) and so far as they relate to retained EU law established under EUWA as those principles and decisions are modified by domestic law from time to time. |
| Secondary legislation | Legal instruments (including regulations and orders) made under powers delegated to ministers or other office holders in Acts of Parliament. They have the force of law but can be disapplied by a court if they do not comply with the terms of their parent Act. Also called subordinate or delegated legislation. |
| Statute book | The body of legislation that has been enacted by Parliament or one of the devolved legislatures, and instruments made under such legislation, and has effect in the UK |
| Statutory instrument | A form of secondary legislation to which the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 applies. |
| Super affirmative resolution procedure | The super-affirmative procedure in the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 is a two stage procedure during which there is opportunity for a draft Legislative Reform Order to be revised by the Minister. A draft order is laid before Parliament, and considered by relevant Parliamentary committees during a 60 day period. The committees may report on the draft order, or either House may make a resolution with regard to the draft order during that period. The Minister must have regard to any such reports and resolutions, as well as to any other representations made about the draft order. Once the 60-day period has expired, if the Minister wishes to make the order with no changes, he must lay a statement giving details of any representations which were made. He can then make the order but provided it is approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament. Alternatively, if the Minister wishes to make changes to the draft order he must lay a revised draft of the order and a statement setting out the revisions he proposes before Parliament, which will be considered by committees of both Houses. The Minister may only make an order in the terms of the revised draft if it is approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament. |
