The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793 (33 Geo. 3 c. 13) is an Act of 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

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

which requires that the

clerk of the Parliaments The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position has existed since at least 1315, and duties include preparing the minutes of Lords proceedings, advising on proper parlia ...

endorse every act of Parliament with the date on which the act passed and the date on which the same received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

and that the date is part of the act. The act formerly stated that such date was when the act would come into force unless the relevant act specified some other date instead of the first day of the session in which they were passed. The commencement part of the Act was repealed by the

Interpretation Act 1978 The Interpretation Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision for the interpretation of Acts of Parliament, Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Assembly, subor ...

and replaced with Section 4 of the same Act, which says the same thing as the repealed portion of the 1793 Act.

Commencement of Acts of Parliament prior to this Act

Previously, most Acts of Parliament were ''ex post facto'' laws, meaning that they were deemed to have come into force on the first day of the session in which they were passed (because of the legal fiction that a session lasted one day). This meant, prior to the enactment of this Act, that all Acts had come into force retroactively some as much as a year before they were actually passed. The preamble to the Commencement Act said that this historic practice was liable to produce "great and manifest injustice".

Provisions of this Act

This Act provides that it applies to Acts of Parliament passed after 8 April 1793.

Endorsement of Acts with the date of royal assent

This Act imposes a duty on the

Clerk of the Parliaments The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position has existed since at least 1315, and duties include preparing the minutes of Lords proceedings, advising on proper parlia ...

to endorse any Act which passes with the date ("the day, month and year") on which that Act passed and received

. It provides that the date must be written, in English, immediately after the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

of that Act, and that that endorsement is part of the endorsed Act.

Commencement of Acts

This Act originally provided that the endorsed Act was to come into force on the date specified by the endorsement, where no other commencement was specified by the endorsed Act. The relevant words were repealed, on 1 January 1979The

, section 26 and have been replaced by section 4 of the

, which says the same thing.

Dating of Acts

Because of the fiction that an Act had come into force on the first day of the session, it was also the convention in citing a pre-1793 Act to date it to the year in which the session had commenced. In the context of modern historical writing, however, it is more usual to date Acts (especially well-known and historically significant Acts) to the actual year in which they passed through Parliament. This leads to discrepancies in the way in which the same Act may be cited or referred to: for example, the Act of Uniformity (1 Eliz 1 c 2) is often dated to 1558 in legal contexts, but to 1559 in historical contexts; the Toleration Act (1 Will & Mary c 18) to 1688 in legal contexts, but 1689 in historical contexts; the

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pr ...

(1 Will & Mary sess 2 c 2) to 1688 in legal contexts, but 1689 in historical contexts; and the Union with Scotland Act (6 Anne c 11) to 1706 in legal contexts, but 1707 in historical contexts. The

Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 The Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 (24 Geo. II c.23), also known as Chesterfield's Act or (in American usage) the British Calendar Act of 1751, is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. Its purpose was for Great Britain and t ...

(24 Geo.II c.23, Assented 17 May 1751) is known in US usage as the British Calendar Act of 1751, which may cause some confusion since there was also a Calendar Act 1751 (25 GeoII c.30) to amend the 1750 Act.

References

* Halsbury's Statutes. Fourth Edition. 2008 Reissue. Volume 41. Page 701.

External links

The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793
as amended, from the National Archives.
Royal Assent Procedure
{{UK legislation Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1793 Ex post facto law