In
legislature
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...
s, more commonly in
parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
s, a non-textual amendment is an
amendment
An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...
that alters the meaning or scope of operation of a piece of legislation, but without changing the text. This is done by creating a provision that refers to another provision. It contrasts with a "textual amendment" that directly changes the wording.
For a non-textual amendment, both the original provision and the new provision would have to be read together to have a complete understanding of the item.
Example
For example, a statement could say, "All cats are allowed." In this case, a textual amendment could be made so that the statement says, "All dogs are allowed."
A non-textual amendment would not change the original statement. Instead, it would be another statement like, "The statement shall apply to dogs as it would apply to cats." This statement would have to be read in conjunction with the original statement, "All cats are allowed", to get the full meaning.
See also
*
Shell bill A shell bill is a legislative bill, typically with no substantive provisions, that is introduced for purposes of later being amended to include the actual legislative proposals advanced by the introducer. This device is used for a number of purpos ...
*
Substitute amendment
References
{{Reflist
Statutory law