Act, bill, statute等名词的区别

最近在读Andrew Altman的Arguing About Law: An Introduction to Legal Philosophy，发现了许多意思相近但又彼此区别的法律名词，这里简单地总结一下。需要说明的是，笔者没有英语或法律方面的专业背景，本文的解释或许存在问题，但笔者尽力列出了每条解释的来源，供读者参考。

act

Merriam-Webster词典的解释[1]是：the formal product of a legislative body.

即立法机关的正式结果，也就是我们所谓的法律。

WordPress的解释[2]则更为详细：

An Act is a piece of legislation that is more specific and applies to particular circumstances and specific people. For example, there are laws against drunk driving and people are aware of them while DUI is the specific.

statute

Merriam-Webster词典的解释是：a law enacted by the legislative branch of a government

act和statute的区别：

英国议会的解释[3]是：An Act of Parliament (also called a statute) is a law made by the UK Parliament.

另一个来源[4]从美国的角度解释了这两个单词：Statutes are federal or state written laws (or “acts”) enacted by the Congress or state legislatures.

因此act和statute应该是同义词。

此外，GPT-4指出，statute是法律的一般术语，指通过立法机构制定的法律文件。法规可以涵盖广泛的法律主题，并在法律体系中具有法律效力。

code

Merriam-Webster的解释[5]:

1: a systematic statement of a body of law

2: a system of principles or rules

印度Legaldiaries的解释[6]

A code is collection of existing laws.

when there are laws existing in the state through means of customs or statute , combining all laws and then formed into new laws. it is called as Code. the process of combining is known as codification.

example: when the British came to India they saw the different laws are prevailing for different religion in India. Therefore first commission of law was formed under the chairmanship of Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay in 1854. then he collected all laws and ten codified all existing laws and formed a code, which is now called it as IPC ( Indian penal code, 1860).

act与code的区别：

act与code相比，act的涉及范围更小，而code的涉及范围更大。立法机关通过的act会经由编纂机构进入code。

ChatGPT: 美国的法典（code）是经过codification（编纂）过程来形成的。Codification是指将散乱的法律规定整理、编排和组织成一部有组织结构的法典。美国联邦法典（United States Code）就是通过对美国联邦法律进行编纂和整理而形成的。

在美国，立法机构（国会）通过的法律会被分配给相应的法典章节和条款，然后由专门的编纂机构（如美国法典编纂办公室）负责将这些法律规定整理、编排和组织成美国法典的形式。这个过程称为codification。通过codification，法典中的法律规定按照主题和领域进行组织，使其更便于查阅和理解。

bill

英国议会的解释[7]：A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to significantly change an existing law.

另一个来源[4]从美国的角度解释了这个单词：A bill is a legislative proposal for enactment of a law. A bill becomes a law (statute) after it is passed and signed.

因此，bill指在法律的草案，但尚未被立法机构认可成为法律。

regulations

Regulations are rules and administrative codes issued by governmental agencies at all levels, municipal, county, state and federal. Regulations have the force of law because they are adopted under authority granted by statutes and often include penalties for violations. Most often, regulations are not included in volumes containing state statutes or federal laws; instead, they must be obtained from government agencies or located in publications not widely distributed. [4]

法规是由各级政府机构（市级、县级、州级和联邦级）颁布的规章和行政法规。法规具有法律效力，因为它们是在法律赋予的权限下制定的，并且通常包括违规行为的处罚。通常，法规不包含在包含州法规或联邦法律的卷册中；相反，它们必须从政府机构获取或在不广泛分发的出版物中找到。[4]

ordinance

Ordinance is mostly referred to as local level laws that are introduced by municipalities. Ordinances too have the same power and effect as that of acts but only within city limits. However, in some circumstances, ordinances have the ability to supersede federal laws. [8]

Ordinance主要指的是由市政府制定的地方法律。 Ordinance也具有与act相同的权力和效果，但仅限于地方范围内。然而，在某些情况下，Ordinance可以取代联邦法律。[8]

edict

a proclamation having the force of law [9]

与act的不同：

As nouns the difference between edict and act is that edict is a proclamation of law or other authoritative command while ACT is a certain standardized [10]

decree

Merriam-Webster:

从Merriam-Webster的解释可以看出，A ‘decree’ implies an order or regulation unilaterally issued or declared by someone in authority, without benefit of legislative review or action. 与act相比，decree更加强调它是被某个权威颁布的，有一丝专断随意的色彩。

clauses：条款

sections

clauses 和 sections 的区别：

The parts of a bill are known as clauses, until it has become an act of parliament, from which time the parts of the law are known as sections. [11]