Decree
Decree is an order by a head of state or government that has the force of law.
In some countries, other words are used for such orders; one example is the
executive orders of the
president of the United States.
The word
decree is often used as a derogative term for any
authoritarian decision. See also
rule by decree.
An
imperial decree is a decree issued by a sovereign ruler, such as an
emperor,
king, or similarly styled person. Imperial decrees from monarchial times differ from decrees issued by heads of state in modern democracies in that they embodied a force of law that was subject to no limitations either by other branches of government, or through the democratic process.
See Government of France.The word
decree (
décret) is used as a legal term to describe the most important executive decisions from the
President or
Prime Minister of France. Those decisions must conform to the
Constitution and
statutes of France, and it is possible to sue for their cancellation in the
Conseil d'État. They require ratification by the Parliament to be changed into laws. Decree-laws, usually considered an illegal practice under the 3rd and 4th Republic, were finally replaced by the ordinance procedure since the 1958 constitution.
Outside of the exceptional reserve powers of the President (as stated in Art 16 of the 1958 constitution, exercised only once so far), the executive can issue decrees in areas that the Constitution grants to the responsibility of Parliament only if the a law authorizes it to do so. In other cases, the decrees are illegal and will be cancelled by the Conseil d'État, should somebody sue. There exists a procedure for the Prime Minister to issue
ordinances in such areas, but this procedure requires the expressed consent of Parliament (see Art 38 of the 1958 constitution).
Decrees of the Prime Minister are of the two following kinds:
* simple decrees (
décrets simples);
* decrees in the Council of State (
décrets en Conseil d'État), when a statute mandates the advisory consultation of the
Conseil d'État.
Sometimes, people refer to
décrets en Conseil d'État improperly as
décrets du Conseil d'État. This would imply that it is the Conseil d'État that takes the decree, whereas the power of decreeing is restricted to the President or Prime Minister; the role of the administrative sections of the
Conseil is purely advisory.
Decrees may be classified into:
*
regulations, which may be:
** application decrees (
décrets d'application), each of which must be specifically authorized by one or more
statutes to determine some
implementation conditions of this or these statutes; these constitute
secondary legislation and are roughly equivalent to British
statutory instruments;
** autonomous regulations (
règlement autonomes), which may be taken only in areas where the
Constitution of France does not impose statute law (passed by the
legislative branch); these constitute
primary legislation;
* particular measures, such as the nomination of high-level
civil servants.Only the prime minister may issue regulatory or application decrees. Presidential decrees are generally nominations, or exceptional measures where law mandates a presidential decree, such as the dissolution of the
French National Assembly and the calling of new legislative elections.
Decrees are published in the
Journal Officiel de la République Française.
All external sites in French unless otherwise noted. **
1946 Constitution of the 4th Republic **
1958 Constitution of the 5th Republic*
Edict*
Rescript*
Ukase*
Proclamation
