Act vs Regulation: Difference and Comparison

Every county has government bodies and organizations that are responsible for passing different types of legislation. These legislations are practised and observed all over the country by specific groups of individuals.

Every person in the country who lives there or comes to visit there has to follow those legislations. Act and regulation are some of the commonly-known legislations.

Key Takeaways

  1. Acts are legislative documents enacted by a governing body, while regulations are rules created by an administrative agency to enforce acts.
  2. Acts provide the legal framework and broad guidelines, whereas regulations outline specific procedures, requirements, and conditions.
  3. Regulations must adhere to the provisions of the act they support, ensuring consistency and alignment with the original legislative intent.

Act vs Regulation

Acts (known as acts of parliament) are laws that are passed, and regulations (subsidiary legislation) are guidelines that dictate how the legal provisions of the act should be followed. Acts are approved by the legislative assembly, while regulations are approved by the Cabinet.

Act vs Regulation

When a law is passed by the legislature, it is entitled as an Act. There is a procedure for making an Act.

When a bill introduced by a member of parliament or the government is passed by both houses of parliament, it is presented to the President for his concern.

When the President gives his assent, the bill then turns into an Act.

On the other hand, regulation is approved by a group of individuals based on a passed Act. Regulations are the subsidiary legislation that defines the essence of the Acts.

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It also provides guidelines that show the way the Act needs to be implemented.

Comparison Table

Parameters of ComparisonActRegulation
DefinitionThe act is a law that is approved by the respective legislative bodies like Parliament or State Legislative Assembly.A regulation is a smaller set of rules that work accordingly with the Acts for clarification.
Procedure When a bill is introduced by the government or a member of Parliament gets accepted by both of the two houses of the parliament, it is then presented to the President for acceptance. When the President gives his assent the bill is turned into an Act.Regulations are the specific requirement within the legislation. It is made by the regulatory bodies for implementing laws appropriately.
Enacted byActs are enacted by legislative bodies.Regulations are enacted by subsidiary legislation.
TypeActs are the parent law, known as Acts of Parliament.Reflections are subordinate and supplement in nature.
Publishing processActs are published as a single document and are available to the public.Regulations are published in the Government Gazette.

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What is Act?

When a law is passed by the legislature, it is entitled as an Act. This legislative body may be nationwide or state-wide.

The Act is the provision enacted by the legislature or government for the public to understand the specific meaning of certain circumstances, how they are expected to behave or react in a certain situation,

and the importance of following the Act. 

There is a procedure for making an Act. Firstly, a bill is introduced by the government or a member of Parliament and sent to get voted by both of the houses of the Parliament.

If the bill passes in both houses, then it is sent to the President of the country or the Governor of the state for approval. Once it was accepted, the bill turned into an Act, which is a constitutional plan.

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Acts are meant to deal with different aspects of the laws. Some Acts are substantial, while some are procedural, and some are private, while some are public. 

act

What is Regulation?

Regulation is approved by a group of individuals based on a passed Act. Regulations are the subsidiary legislation that defines the essence of the Acts.

It also provides guidelines that show the way the Act needs to be implemented.

In industries, regulations are specific formal rules that organizations and their workers follow. Therefore two main forms of regulation- self-regulation and government regulation. 

Self-regulation is the regulations that are followed by an individual, or a business where they have control over how it fulfils the legislative requirements, and government regulation is the natural extension of legislation.

Regulations are enforced by the regulators. They are produced by the regulating authority.

They are not interfered with by the President or the head of the state. They are either enforced internally or externally.

Regulations are published in the official or Government Gazette.

regulation

Main differences Between Act and Regulation 

  1. When a law is passed by the legislature, it is entitled as an Act. On the other hand, a regulation is a smaller set of rules that work accordingly with the acts for clarification.
  2. When the government introduces a bill or a member of Parliament gets accepted by both the two houses of the parliament, it is then presented to the President for acceptance. When the President gives his assent, the bill is turned into an Act. On the other hand, Regulations are the specific requirement within the legislation. The regulatory bodies make it for implementing laws appropriately.
  3. Acts are published as a single document and are available to the public. On the other hand, regulations are not passed before the Parliament houses, and regulations are published in the government gazette.
  4. Acts are enforced by legislative bodies, whereas regulations are enacted by subsidiary bodies.
  5. The Act is the parent law, whereas the regulations are subordinate and supplement in nature.
Difference Between Act and Regulation
References
  1. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zGI3BAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=definition+of+An+Act+in+Law+&ots=SbP13zxszV&sig=1R-jIwFYurqM0aXbTloHhDcYl7I&redir_esc=y
  2. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ngykkvYDzy0C&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=what+is+regulation+&ots=Tdkax_kct1&sig=CeZ-WYBI1ruoJfJmzjSV_MOcz1Q&redir_esc=y

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About Author

Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.