Statute 26783 222993781 2008-07-02T02:21:06Z Valley2city 524140 /* Biblical terminology */ added term "reason for" red heifer [[Image:GDL Statute.jpg|thumb|300px|Statute of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], written in [[Polish language|Polish]]]] A '''statute''' is a formal written enactment of a [[legislative]] authority that governs a [[country]], [[state]], [[city]], or [[county]]. <ref name=Blacks>{{cite book | last = Black | first = Henry Campbell | title = Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition | publisher = [[West Publishing]] | date = 1990 | location = | pages =1410 | isbn =0-314-76271-x }}</ref> Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy.<ref name=Blacks/> The word is often used to distinguish [[law]] made by [[legislature|legislative]] bodies from the [[Legal opinions|judicial decisions]] of the [[common law]] and the [[regulations]] issued by [[Government agencies]].<ref name=Blacks/> 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 branch|executive]] in the [[government]], and finally published as part of a [[Code (law)|code]]. In many countries, statutes are organized in topical arrangements (or [[codification|"codified"]]) within publications called [[Code (law)|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]], the reason for 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 [[Shabbat|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 [[Spanish Constitution of 1978|constitution of 1978]] was approved. ==References== {{reflist}} ==See also== *[[Legislation]] *[[Legislature]] *[[Organic statute]] *[[Statutory law]] {{law}} [[Category:Statutory law]] [[Category:Legal research]] [[de:Statut]] [[ga:Reacht]] [[he:חוק]] [[is:Statúta]] [[nl:Statuten]] [[ja:法律]] [[no:Statutt]] [[ms:Statut]] [[pl:Ustawa]] [[ru:нормативно-правовой акт]] [[yi:געזעץ]] [[zh:成文法]]