The control of Delegated Legislation

CONTROL OF DELEGATED LEGISLATION

Definition of Delegated Legislation

Delegated Legislation simply refers to rules, laws, and orders issues by bodies other than the Legislature of a state. Law making is the main duty of a Legislature, however, there are times when because of time, expertise or for any other reason, the Legislature defers its power to make laws to other bodies. The laws that are made by these other bodies are referred to as Delegated Legislation.

CONTROLS

Question Time in Parliament

When a Minster is hauled before parliament, Members of Parliament are given the opportunity to question him or her about the goings on in his or her ministry. Under such circumstance, the Minister could be criticized for his actions if it violates the Parent Act.

The Press

The media, including the radio, newspapers and television, is a medium that is used to keep the appointees in check. No Minister would want to be put on the line for discussion and put in a bad light. The press therefore ensures that they delegated legislation do not infringe on the rights of the citizenry.

Protests and demonstrations

Another way of controlling delegated legislation is to use protests and demonstrations. In this case no government official wants to be in the news for the ‘wrong’ reasons. The group that uses this method mostly is pressure groups.

Use of the Judicial

Another control of delegated legislation is the judiciary. A citizen, whose rights have been violated, can resort to the courts for redress. Where the courts find out that the official acted beyond the powers granted it by the enabling act, it can declare the action null and void.

The office of the Ombudsman

For countries that have an Ombudsman or any with similar functions, any citizen whose rights have been violated or who has received a raw deal from any government official, can seek redress from the Ombudsman and if is found out that he or she has a case, a remedy would be found.

Legislative control

There is a Select committee in parliament which is tasked with the function of scrutinizing statutory instruments that are brought before parliament. When it detects any ambiguity in the instrument, it can refer it to Parliament for it to be re-looked at.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. a. What is delegated legislation? [2 marks]

    b. In which six ways can delegated legislation be controlled? [10 marks]

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