BY SHAD SALEEM FARUQI
Shad Saleem Faruqi – file pic
THE making, amending or repealing of a law is Parliament’s primary function. Whether it is an ordinary Act of Parliament (like the Road Traffic Act), or a law to combat subversion or emergency, or a constitutional amendment, the legislative proposal must go through the fires of scrutiny in both Houses of Parliament.
Subsidiary legislation: Regrettably, the above theory does not apply to delegated (or subsidiary) legislation, which is made by persons or authorities outside of Parliament on the explicit authority of a parliamentary statute (the parent law).
In fact, for every one statute passed by Parliament, there are on average 15 to 20 pieces of subsidiary regulations framed by the executive under the authority of that statute.
Subsidiary legislation is not only about minor matters of detail. It imposes taxes, fines and levies. It creates crimes. Both in quantity and in the reach of its topics, subsidiary legislation is as important as parliamentary legislation.
This shocking state of affairs has adverse implications for representative democracy and the doctrine of separation of powers. The executive enacts far more laws than Parliament.
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