However there are several advantages in delegated legislation. For example, it may be necessary as Parliament may have insufficient time to debate every rule for an efficient government. The speediness allows rules to be made more efficiently as compared to the slow Parliament procedures. This is necessary in times of emergencies.
Delegated Legislation has its advantages and disadvantages. It may make the process of amending existing legislation simpler but may unnecessarily shift power from a democratically elected Parliament to an executive. Controls of delegated legislation may be insufficient unless reforms are made to ensure the effectiveness.
Delegated legislation is advantageous as it can be challenged under the procedure of judicial review whereas the validity of a statute can never be challenged due to parliamentary sovereignty.
Ultra vires is where a person had acted beyond the powers granted. This may be based on 2 grounds for judicial control which may be procedural or substantive grounds.Procedural grounds is where a citizen may challenge the validity of delegated legislation where there has been a failure to follow procedures laid down in Enabling Act.
Substantive ultra vires is usually based on the claims that the measure under review goes beyond the powers that Parliament granted under Enabling Act. In Custom and Excise Commissioners vs Cure & Deeley Ltd, the commissioner role was only to collect taxes due by law and not decide on the amount that they thought fit. Hence, they had acted beyond powers granted.
Unreasonableness may also be a ground for challenge. If rules are manifestly unjust, or so perverse that no reasonable official would make them, the court can declare invalidity.
Delegated legislation has disadvantages such as inadequate democratic involvement as it is made by civil servants rather than elected politicians. There may also be sub-delegation where ministers delegate law-making to a civil servant. The lack of control due to ineffective controls may lead to lack of democracy in the system.
However there are several advantages in delegated legislation. For example, it may be necessary as Parliament may have insufficient time to debate every rule for an efficient government. The speediness allows rules to be made more efficiently as compared to the slow Parliament procedures. This is necessary in times of emergencies.
In addition, MPs do not usually have the technical knowledge required whereas delegated legislation can use experts familiar with relevant areas. Similarly, local bye-laws can only be made effectively with awareness of the locality.
Delegated Legislation has its advantages and disadvantages. It may make the process of amending existing legislation simpler but may unnecessarily shift power from a democratically elected Parliament to an executive. Controls of delegated legislation may be insufficient unless reforms are made to ensure the effectiveness.
by
zhilinglim27gmailcom (student)
