Dictionary Definition
statute adj : enacted by a legislative body;
"statute law"; "codified written laws" [syn: codified, statute(p)] n :
an act passed by a legislative body [syn: legislative
act]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- /ˈstætʃuːt/, /"st
Extensive Definition
A statute is a formal written
enactment of a legislative authority that
governs a country,
state, city, or county. Typically, statutes
command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often
used to distinguish law made
by legislative
bodies from the judicial
decisions of the common law and
the regulations
issued by Government
agencies. Statutes are sometimes referred to as legislation or "black
letter law. As a source of law, statutes are considered
primary
authority (as opposed to secondary
authority).
Before a statute becomes
law in some countries, it
must be agreed upon by the highest executive
in the government,
and finally published as part of a code. In many
countries, statutes are organized in topical arrangements (or
"codified") within
publications called codes, such as
the United
States Code. In the United States, statutory
law is distinguished from and subordinate to constitutional
law.
Alternative meanings
International law
The term statute is sometimes also used to refer to an International treaty that establishes an institution, such as the Statute of the European Central Bank, a protocol to the Treaty of Maastricht. This includes international courts as well, such as the Statute of the International Court of Justice and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Statute is also another word for law. The term was adapted from England in about the 18th century.Biblical terminology
In biblical terminology, a Statute (Hebrew chok) refers to a law given without a reason. The classic example is the Statute regarding the Red Heifer, which, legend has it, defied even the wisdom of King Solomon.The opposite of a chok is a
mishpat, a law given for a specified reason, e.g. the Sabbath laws, which
were given because "God created the world in six days, but on the
seventh day He rested". (Genesis
2:2-3)
Autonomy Statute
In the Autonomous Communities of Spain the Autonomy Statute is a legal document similar in all but name to a state constitution in a federal state. The name was chosen because federalism was a taboo subject when the constitution of 1978 was approved.statute in German:
Statut
statute in Hebrew:
חוק
statute in Icelandic:
Statúta
statute in Dutch:
Statuten
statute in Japanese:
法律
statute in Norwegian:
Statutt
statute in Malay
(macrolanguage): Statut
statute in Polish:
Ustawa
statute in Russian:
нормативно-правовой акт
statute in Yiddish:
געזעץ
statute in Chinese:
成文法
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Eighteenth Amendment,
Prohibition Party, Volstead Act, act, assize, ban, bill, bylaw, canon, contraband, decree, decretum, denial, dictate, dictation, disallowance, edict, embargo, enactment, exclusion, forbiddance, forbidden
fruit, forbidding,
form, formality, formula, formulary, index, index expurgatorius, index
librorum prohibitorum, inhibition, injunction, institution, interdict, interdiction, interdictum, jus, law, legislation, lex, measure, no-no, ordinance, ordonnance, precept, preclusion, prescript, prescription, prevention, prohibition, prohibitory
injunction, proscription, refusal, regulation, rejection, repression, restrictive
covenants, rubric,
rule, ruling, ruling out, standing
order, sumptuary laws, suppression, taboo, zoning, zoning
laws