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{{short description|Formal written document that creates law}}
{{Distinguish|statue}}
{{other uses|General Statutes (disambiguation)}}
{{One source|date=May 2023}}
[[File:GDL Statute.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Statute of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], written in [[Polish language|Polish]]]]
A '''statute''' is a formal written enactment of a [[legislature|legislative]] body,<ref name=Blacks>{{cite book |last      = Black
|first     = Henry Campbell
|title     = Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition
|publisher = [[West Publishing]]
|year      = 1990
|location  =
|pages     = [https://archive.org/details/blackslawdiction00henr/page/1410 1410]
|isbn      = 0-314-76271-X
|url       = https://archive.org/details/blackslawdiction00henr/page/1410
}}</ref> a stage in the process of [[legislation]]. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare [[Public policy|policy]].<ref name=Blacks/> Statutes are laws made by legislative bodies; they are distinguished from [[case law]] or [[precedent]], which is decided by [[court]]s, [[regulations]] issued by [[government agencies]], and [[Oral law|oral]] or [[customary law]].<ref name=Blacks/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law |title=Common law - The modernization of common law in Great Britain |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2024}} [[Statute]]s may originate with the legislative body of a country, state or province, county, or [[municipality]].
The word "statute" is derived from the late Latin word "statutum", which means 'law', 'decree'.
==Publication and organization==
In virtually all countries, newly enacted statutes are published and distributed so that everyone can look up the statutory law. This can be done in the form of a [[government gazette]] which may include other kinds of legal notices released by the government, or in the form of a series of books whose content is limited to legislative acts.  In either form, statutes are traditionally published in chronological order based on date of enactment.
A universal problem encountered by lawmakers throughout human history is how to organize published statutes. Such publications have a habit of starting small but growing rapidly over time, as new statutes are enacted in response to the exigencies of the moment. Eventually, persons trying to find the law are forced to sort through an enormous number of statutes enacted at various points in time to determine which portions are still in effect.
The solution adopted in many countries is to organize existing statutory law in topical arrangements (or [[Codification (law)|"codified"]]) within publications called [[Code (law)|codes]], then ensure that new statutes are consistently drafted so that they add, amend, repeal or move various code sections. In turn, in theory, the code will thenceforth reflect the current cumulative state of the statutory law in that jurisdiction.  In many nations statutory law is distinguished from and subordinate to [[constitutional law]].
==Alternative meanings==
===International law===
The term '''statute''' is 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 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.
===Autonomy statute===
In the [[autonomous communities of Spain]], an autonomy statute is a legal document similar to the constitution of a [[federated state]], save that it is enacted by the national legislature, rather than the autonomous community it governs. The autonomy statutes in Spain have the rank of ''ley orgánica'' (organic law), a category of special legislation reserved only for the main institutions and issues and mentioned in the constitution (the highest ranking legal instrument in Spain). ''Leyes orgánicas'' rank between the constitution and ordinary laws. The name was chosen, among others, to avoid confusion with the term ''constitution'' (i.e. the Spanish constitution of 1978).
==Types==
*[[Public and private bills]]
*[[Organic statute]]
*[[Super statute]]
==See also==
*[[Constitution]]
*[[Statutory interpretation]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Wiktionary|statute}}
{{wikiquote|Statutes}}
{{Commons category|Statutes}}
{{Commons category|Statutory law}}
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[[Category:Legal research]]
[[Category:Sources of law]]
[[Category:Statutory law]]
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