An Act of Tynwald is a

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...

passed by

Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House ...

, the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

Structure

Acts of Tynwald are structured in a similar format to Acts of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

Commencement

Originally, each Act began with the following formula: In later Acts, this was modernised as follows: Modern-day Acts now omit this formula altogether.

Long title

Each Act has a

long title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. The ...

, which summarises the purpose of the statute. An example from a Customs Act is:

Enacting formula

The substantive provisions of the Act are preceded by an

enacting formula An enacting clause is a short phrase that introduces the main provisions of a law enacted by a legislature. It is also called enacting formula or enacting words. It usually declares the source from which the law claims to derive its authority. In ...

, which is currently worded as follows: Until 1 January 2008, a longer form of words had been used: In earlier Acts, commencing with the revestment of the island to the British Crown, the following form was used:

Short title and citation

In modern times, Acts of Tynwald have specified a

short title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. T ...

by which they may be cited for convenience; e.g. "Isle of Man Constitution Act 1961". Acts from the 1970s onwards can also be cited by year and chapter number; e.g. "1990 c. 3". In British legislation, Acts of Tynwald are cited by the short title, with the addition of the text "(An Act of Tynwald)"; similarly, British legislation is referenced in Manx law by the short title and "(An Act of Parliament)".

Secondary legislation

The Isle of Man also has a form of delegated legislation, in the form of rules, orders and regulations made under authority of a particular Act of Tynwald. These can be either in an affirmative form (Tynwald must vote to bring them into effect), or a negative form (they will have effect ''unless'' one or more members of Tynwald seeks a vote on the matter).

Printing

{{As of, 2006, the government printer for Acts of Tynwald is The Copy Shop in Bucks Road,

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