Laws written and passed by a legislative body are known as statutes. Statutory law is the law based on such statutes, rather than on previously determined legal outcomes. Common law is generally left to the discretion of the courts while statutory laws are passed so that they are strictly enforced with little room for interpretation.
How Statutory Laws Are Passed
Statutory laws are created and passed by following the typical procedures associated with legislation. This process starts with a bill being written and proposed which is then voted on by members of the legislative branch. If the legislative branch it then moves onto the executive branch which a governor or the president will signs the bill which will effectively pass the law as a statute. If the bill is not signed it can possibly be passed back down to the legislature where it will be reviewed again.
Revision, Renewal, and Repeal of Statutory Laws
Legal statutes are not set in stone as they can be reviewed and then repealed in any legislative meeting that takes place. As society changes, sometimes that laws that govern society need to change as well . Technological advances, developments in certain industries, as well as shifts of the political landscapes can cause laws to be changed.
Some statutes are written with an expiration date built into it so that the process of renewing or removing the laws can be expedited. Once a law is deemed to be unneeded it can be simply left to expire which at that point the law will no longer be able to be imposed.
