Proposed bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

which would apply to everyone within its

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

. A private bill is a proposal for a law affecting only a single person, group, or area, such as a bill granting a named person

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

or, previously, granting named persons a legislative

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

. Private law can afford relief from another law, grant a unique benefit or powers not available under the general law, or relieve someone from legal responsibility for some allegedly wrongful act. There are many examples of such private law in democratic countries, although its use has changed over time. A private bill is not to be confused with a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

, which is a bill introduced by a "private member" of the legislature rather than by the ministry. In modern practice, private bills are mixed and have both private and public aspects. In such cases the proposed legislation is called a hybrid bill. Some public laws set out such narrow terms of applicability that they apply to only one person or organization, making them ''de facto'' private laws. This may be used (successfully or unsuccessfully) to get around prohibitions on certain kinds of public laws.

United Kingdom

Public bills are the most common bills introduced in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. If they are enacted, they become public general acts (in contrast with local and personal acts). Private bills create two types of act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. The first are acts for the benefit of individuals (known as private or personal acts) which have historically often dealt with divorces or granting British nationality to foreigners, but in modern times are generally limited to authorising marriages which would otherwise not be legal.Chronological Table of the Private and Personal Acts Part 33 (1910-1987)
Office of Public Sector Information – retrieved 23 May 2009 The most recent such act was made in 1987. The second type are public acts for the benefit of organisations, or authorising major projects such as railways or canals, or granting extra powers to local authorities (known as local acts). Private bills were used in the nineteenth century to create

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

s and grant monopolies. They are still used in relation to large infrastructure projects, such as HS2, where law is being created primarily to give effect to rights and powers being exercised by a private (even if largely state owned) entity. There is another classification known as a hybrid instrument which shares characteristics of both public and private bills. Hybrid bills become public acts.

Canada

Divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

prior to the passage of the Divorce Act of 1968 was sometimes handled by private laws. If unavailable by administrative or judicial means, it was possible to obtain a legislative divorce by application to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

, which reviewed and investigated

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

s for divorce, which would then be voted upon by the Senate and subsequently made into law.

United States

Public bills are the most common type of law in the United States. The

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

prohibits bills of attainder in both state and federal legislatures, meaning private laws cannot be used to punish any specific individual or organization. This does not prohibit private laws which are favorable to a person or corporation. In the United States, private bills were previously common. However, federal agencies are now able to deal with most of the issues that were previously dealt with under private bills as these agencies have been granted sufficient discretion by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

to deal with exceptions to the general legislative scheme of various laws. The kinds of private bills that are still introduced include grants of

to individuals who are otherwise ineligible for normal visa processing; alleviation of tax liabilities; armed services decorations; and veteran benefits.

References

External links

List of recent beneficiaries of immigration-related private bills

Canada: Table of Private Acts (1867 to December 31, 2013)
{{Authority control Statutory law Bill

United Kingdom

Canada

United States

See also

References

External links