Albania Parliament of Albania:
Antigua and Barbuda Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda:
Argentina Congress of Argentina:
Australia Parliament of Australia Austria National Council:
Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad:
Barbados Parliament of Barbados: 1969: 2020: For bills amending the constitution:
The Bahamas Parliament of The Bahamas:
Belgium In Belgium the enacting formula appears in the
Belgian official journal (
Belgisch Staatsblad/
Moniteur belge) when the law is promulgated and published, but is usually thereafter not included when the law is printed in compilations, or stored in internet databases, even official ones. The enacting clause is as follows.
Belize Parliament of Belize:
Botswana Parliament of Botswana:
Brazil National Congress of Brazil: In Brazil the presidential assent to a bill is called "sanction". After passing both houses of Congress (the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate), the final version of the bill, duly signed by the presiding officers of both houses, is sent to the president of the republic. The document is still called a "proposed law", with a bill number, and with the header "
The National Congress decrees:" (In Portuguese:
"O Congresso Nacional decreta:"). If the president approves the bill, a different copy of the act is prepared by the Presidency of the Republic, with the official number of the law and the date of enactment of the law, and also with the replacement of the clause "The National Congress decrees:" with the above-mentioned formula "
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: I make it known that the National Congress decrees and I sanction the following Law:". The signatures of the presiding officers of Congress are therefore not present in this version of the act. This is the version of the statute that is published in the Official Journal and that is included in the statute books. When granting his approval to a bill, the president signs both the bill sent to him by Congress and the final version of the statute with the presidential enacting formula. The signed bill is returned to Congress by means of a presidential message; the signed statute with the presidential enacting formula is printed in the Official Journal, and the original is thereafter sent to the National Archive. Thus, in Brazil, the president is always seen signing two different documents at bill signing ceremonies (the two documents are called the "autographs"): one is the text of the proposed law; the other is the final text of the statute. Technically, the first signature (on the autograph of the bill sent by Congress) is the "sanction to the proposed law", that is, the approval of the bill, that transforms it in a law, and the second signature (on the final version of the statute with the presidential enacting formula and a law number) is the promulgation, the announcement to the people that the law has been adopted. While the signature of the president on the bill includes the addition of the formula "I sanction it" (in Portuguese: "Sanciono") above the signature, this is not seen in the final "promulgation" autograph of the statute. On the other hand, the promulgated statute contains not only the signature of the president but also the countersignatures of his ministers principally charged with applying the law. When the president vetoes a bill, and the veto is overridden, the bill is returned by Congress to the president not for sanction (approval) but merely for promulgation. In that case, the president is expected to promulgate the bill in 48 hours. In that situation, the enacting formula that appears in the final text of the adopted statute is as follows: Tacit sanction (i.e. implicit approval) is deemed to take place if the president fails to sign or veto a bill within the constitutionally mandated timeframe of fifteen working days from receiving the bill. Once the bill is considered implicitly sanctioned, the president is expected to promulgate the new law and the same 48-hour timeframe applies. The formula in this case is: Should the president refuse to promulgate, or fail to promulgate in the period of 48 hours, a bill, after his veto has been overridden by Congress, then the authority to promulgate the bill passes to the president of the Senate. In that case, the formula of promulgation is: Should the president of the republic refuse to promulgate, or fail to promulgate in the period of 48 hours, a bill, after the bill has been implicitly sanctioned due to his failure to sign or veto it within the constitutionally mandated timeframe, then the authority to promulgate the bill passes to the president of the Senate. In that case, the formula of promulgation is: Whenever the president adopts a provisional measure and the provisional measure is approved by Congress with changes, a normal bill is sent to the president for approval or veto, and the same formulas used for other bills are employed; once enacted, the new statute replaces the provisional measure. However, if the provisional measure adopted by the president is approved by Congress without changes, the bill does not need to be presented for approval or veto; in that case, the law that both corresponds fully to the provisional measure and replaces it is promulgated directly by the president of the Senate, with the following words:
Historical: General Assembly of the Empire of Brazil (1822–1889) Whenever the General Assembly of the Empire (made up of a Senate and of a Chamber of Deputies) passed a bill, a decree of the General Assembly containing the articles of the approved bill was sent to the emperor for sanction or veto. The decree of the General Assembly began with the following formula (that did not appear in the final version of the statute, after the imperial sanction): "
The General Assembly decrees:" (in Portuguese: "
A Assembleia Geral decreta:"). The decree was still only a proposed law, that would become an actual law if sanctioned by the emperor. The General Assembly sent its decree to the emperor for sanction or veto by means of a message with the words following: "
The General Assembly sends to the Emperor the enclosed decree, that it considers advantageous, and useful to the Empire, and it asks that His Imperial Majesty may be pleased to grant it His sanction" (in Portuguese: "
A Assembleia Geral dirige ao Imperador o decreto incluso, que julga vantajoso e útil ao Império, e pede a Sua Majestade Imperial, se digne dar a Sua sanção"). If the emperor decided to sanction the decree, then he sent the message of the General Assembly back to the legislature, adding after the text of the decree of the General Assembly the following words, together with the date and his signature: ""
The Emperor consents" (in Portuguese: "
O Imperador consente"). Then, the executive branch prepared a formal document to promulgate the new law, and this document was known in the imperial period as a
Charter of Law (in Portuguese:
Carta de Lei). It was the chartered version of the law that was included in the statute books and that was printed and published for the knowledge of the people. Thus, the Charter of Law was the final version of the statute as adopted. It was signed by the emperor and countersigned by his responsible ministers, and contained an enacting formula as follows: When the powers of the emperor were discharged by regents on behalf of the monarch the formula was as follows:
Canada Parliament of Canada: The enacting clause for
money bills differs. For example, in the
Appropriation Act No. 4, 2015–16, it reads as follows:
Chile National Congress of Chile:
Colombia Congress of Colombia:
Croatia Hrvatski sabor: Words "Hrvatski sabor" (
Croatian Parliament) are printed in uppercase as a header on all laws, thereby starting the enacting clause and symbolizing that there is no authority higher than the Parliament. This might be rooted in a popular quote from
Ante Starčević in a parliamentary discussion in June 1861, as he stated that there is no-one above the
parliamentary sovereignty (other than God and the people of Croatia). A brief statement follows, signed by the
president of Croatia, promulgating the law, referring to his constitutional right to do so and the session of the parliament where the legislation has been passed.
Denmark The Danish Folketing:
Dominica Parliament of Dominica:
Finland Parliament of Finland (from 1917 onwards): • Ordinary Acts (enacted in accordance with § 72 of the Constitution): • Acts containing a limited derogation from the Constitution (enacted in accordance with § 73 of the Constitution): • Acts concerning the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland: Before 1917 (examples):
Fiji Parliament of Fiji:
France Parliament of France:
Germany Bundestag of Germany: For acts which do not need the consent of the
Bundesrat: For acts which need the consent of the Bundesrat: For acts which need an
absolute majority and the consent of the Bundesrat: For acts that change the
Basic Law: All laws conclude with the following formula before the place and date of signature, the signature of the federal president and the countersignatures of the federal chancellor and of the federal ministers responsible for the subject-matter of the law:
Ghana Parliament of Ghana:
Greece Normal lawmaking According to the current
Constitution of Greece (since March, 1986) each law is approved by the
Parliament and promulgated by the
president of the Republic. Before the first amendment of the current
Constitution of Greece (until March, 1986) each law had to be approved by the
Parliament and then to be ratified and promulgated by the
president of the republic. Under the presidential parliamentary constitution of 1927 and since the Senate's formation in June 1929, each law had to be approved by the
Chamber of Deputies and the
Senate and then to be promulgated by the president of the republic. • While, until Senate's formation: • And during the
Fourth National Assembly at Athens held between January 1924 and September 1925: Also, during constitutional monarchy regime, under the constitutions of 1864 (as amended in 1911 and re-enacted in 1935) and 1952, each law had to be approved by both the
Parliament and the
king and then promulgated by the later. • Especially, under the constitution of 1844, each law had to be approved by the
Chamber of Deputies, the
Senate and the
king and then promulgated by the last.
Lawmaking under the state of emergency In case of extremely urgent unforeseen situations, the Constitution grants the Greek government along with the president of the republic to issue legislative acts bypassing the parliamentary approval, to deal with urgent issues, provided that act to be later submitted for sanction in Parliament within forty days after either its promulgation or the parliamentary session convocation, to acquire legal power. Under the previous presidential parliamentary constitutions, emergency laws and legislative decrees were enacted by the following clause: • Especially, during
Second Hellenic Republic period, emergency laws and legislative decrees were enacted by the following clause: During the
Kingdom of Greece period, emergency laws and legislative decrees were enacted by the following clause: • Especially, under 1952 constitution, the legislative decrees were promulgated only during the absence of Parliament-in-session with consent of a special parliamentary committee, consisted of a fixed by law number of MPs appointed in advance at the start of each session.
Constitutional and Parliament Regulation amendments Currently, any amendment of the Constitution Law must be published in the official government gazette of the Hellenic Republic, directly ordered by the speaker of the Parliament. Likewise, any amendment of the Work Regulation Law of the Hellenic Parliament must be published in the official government gazette of the Hellenic Republic, directly ordered by the speaker of the Parliament.
Presidential and royal decrees The president of the Hellenic Republic is the sole authorized state official to promulgate decrees, according to the current constitution. In case of president's absence/incapacity/retirement, the decrees are legally promulgated by the president of the Parliament, performing as acting president of the republic. • Especially, during
Second Hellenic Republic period: During the Kingdom of Greece period, the clause of the equivalent royal decrees, issued only by the king or the authorized regent, was:
Other acts Acts issued by the Cabinet, being inferior than decrees, enact secondary legislation. Distinctively, various constituent acts (i.e. constitutional amendentments without parliamentary approval), occasionally issued for politically transitional periods (and sometimes be submitted for sanction by the next National Assembly, to be formal constitutional amendements), are also enacted like:
Grenada Parliament of Grenada: :1967–1979, 1985–present:
Governor-General and the Advisory Council of Grenada: :1983–1984:
People's Revolutionary Government: :1979–1983:
Guyana Parliament of Guyana:
India Parliament of India:
Indonesia Indonesian laws have a preamble stating the aims of the law and the clauses of the
Constitution and clauses of other laws relevant to the law. The enacting clause is both before and after the preamble.
People's Representative Council: {{blockquote| [preamble] [clause of related laws] Before
constitutional amendments in 2000, the phrase after the preamble was as follows:
Ireland The
Oireachtas (parliament of the
Republic of Ireland): Standard: :Since 1937: : : :1922–1937: : : For an act with a preamble: :Since 1937: : : :1922–1937: : :
Israel Currently, Israel does not use enacting clauses in its final laws, but a pseudo-enacting clause is usually printed at the beginning of bills: : : However, the Law and Administration Ordinance did have an enacting clause: : :
Italy Italian laws are published in the
Gazzetta Ufficiale (the official gazette) with the following enacting clauses: Standard: : :
Constitutional amendments passed by a two-thirds majority in each house: : :
Constitutional amendments passed by a majority of the entire membership in each house of Parliament and approved by referendum: : :.
Constitutional amendments passed by a majority of the entire membership in each house of Parliament and on which a referendum has not been requested: : : After the text of the law itself, the enacting clause continues: : : After this concluding clause, the place and date of signature follow. Then the signature of the president of the republic (printed in capital letters when the law is published in the Gazette) and the counter-signatures of the president of the Council of Ministers (the prime minister) and of the keeper of the state seal (an office held by the minister of justice). Those counter-signatures are printed in normal letters when the law is published in the Gazette. The keeper of the state seal counter-signs the law when sealing it. Thereafter, this enacting clause is usually omitted when the law is reprinted in internet compilations or legal books.
Jamaica Parliament of Jamaica: 1962–2024: Since 2024:
Kiribati Maneaba ni Maungatabu:
Lebanon Parliament of Lebanon:
Malaysia Parliament of Malaysia: Since 1998: Before 1998: Special laws invoking
Article 149 of the Constitution of Malaysia: Special laws invoking Article 149 of the Constitution of Malaysia (Before 1998):
Malta Parliament of Malta: :Since 1974:
Mexico After approving laws, Congress issues them as a decree in the manner stablished by Article 70 of the Constitution. Congress then sends the decree to the president for him to assent or veto the law. If the president grants assent to the law, he then issues a decree formally enacting it. Decrees are published in the Official Journal of the Federation (
Diario Oficial de la Federación).
Congress of the Union:
Moldova Parliament of the Republic of Moldova:
Namibia Parliament of the Republic of Namibia:
Nauru Parliament of Nauru:
Netherlands Estates-General of the Netherlands: The text in
Dutch is:
New Zealand Parliament of New Zealand: 1986–1999: Before 1986:
Nigeria Nigerian National Assembly:
Pakistan Parliament of Pakistan:
Papua New Guinea National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Paraguay Congress of Paraguay:
Philippines Congress of the Philippines Bills: Joint resolutions:
Peru Congress of Peru:
Portugal The enacting clauses used in Portuguese legislation are determined by the
Lei formulária (Formulary Law, Law no. 74/98).
President of the Republic • General presidential decrees • Ratification of an international treaty
Assembly of the Republic: • Laws • Resolutions
Government • Executive laws OR OR All laws conclude with the date of approval by the respective legislative body and the signature of its presiding member (either the president of the Assembly of the Republic or the prime minister), followed by the formula of promulgation by the president of the republic. This formula of promulgation is very simple, consisting only of the clause "Let it be published" (in Portuguese:
Publique-se), followed by the date of promulgation by the president of the republic and the presidential signature (the name of the head of state is printed in capital letters when the law is published). After the signature of the president, the counter-signature of the prime minister follows (preceded by the date of the counter-signature), and the name of the prime minister is printed in normal letters when the law is published. No law can enter into force before being officially published in the
Diário da República (
Diary of the Republic).
Romania Parliament of Romania: 1965–1989: 1948–1965: 1881–1947:
San Marino Grand and General Council: The enacting clause used in Sammarinese laws consists of two parts, the first is always the same when an enacting clause is used, and consists of the following: : : The clause refers to San Marino as "The Most Serene Republic"; however, this is not its official name. The second part of the enacting clause comes at the end of the preamble, if any, and differs depending on the type of law in which it is contained and if certain actions may have been taken during its enactment (for example amendment during ratification). Ordinary law: :Ordinary laws are published with the date of the sitting of the Grand and General Council on which the law was approved, so a law passed on 23 January 2019 would be worded as follows: : : Constitutional law: :Like ordinary laws, constitutional laws are published with the date of the sitting of the Council at which it was approved, as well as the votes in favour and against its passage, so a constitutional law which was passed on 3 December 2021 with 43 votes in favour would have its enacting clause worded as follows: : : Qualified law: :Qualified laws are worded similarly to constitutional laws: : : Law of constitutional revision: : : Decree: : : :On some occasions, the following line may appear as part of the preamble before the second part: : : Decree-law: : : Delegated decree: : : Parliamentary decree: : : Regulation: : :
Congress of State: Like with legislation from the Grand and General Council, ordinances issued by the Congress of State consists of two parts which is usually separated by a preamble. : :
South Africa Parliament of South Africa: Since 27 April 1994: or The
Constitution of South Africa, not being a conventional act of Parliament, does not contain an enacting formula
per se. Its preamble does, however, contain the words In the context, "we" refers to the people of South Africa. 3 September 1984 to 27 April 1994: :For "general affairs" acts: : :For "own affairs" acts: : 1 January 1981 to 3 September 1984: 31 May 1961 to 1 January 1981: :For acts amending the
entrenched clauses of the
Constitution of 1961: : 31 May 1910 to 31 May 1961: :For acts amending the entrenched clauses of the
South Africa Act 1909:
Spain Cortes Generales of Spain: For constitutions: For organic acts:
Saint Kitts and Nevis Parliament of Saint Kitts and Nevis:
Saint Lucia Parliament of Saint Lucia: 1979–1988: Since 1988:
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines:
Singapore Parliament of Singapore:
Solomon Islands National Parliament of the Solomon Islands:
Swaziland Parliament of Swaziland Sweden Riksdag Switzerland Swiss Federal Assembly:
Trinidad and Tobago Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago: :Since 1976: :1962–1976:
Thailand National Assembly of Thailand: Constitution: Act: Royal decree and emergency decree: Royal command:
Tuvalu Parliament of Tuvalu:
Uganda Parliament of Uganda:
United Kingdom Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: :For
money bills: : :Under the
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949: : An enacting clause may be preceded by an explanatory preamble of "whereas" clauses, e.g. for the Chequers Estate Act 1917. Until the 19th century each later section of an act repeated an abbreviated version of the formula used in the first section, typically "and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid". The first
revised edition of the statutes omitted these formulae to save space, while printing the primary enacting clause. The
Statute Law Revision Act 1888 deleted these formulae from many unrepealed acts.
United States Congress of the United States Bills: Joint Resolutions (have the same effect as bills):
Vanuatu Parliament of Vanuatu Venezuela National Assembly of Venezuela:
Zambia Parliament of Zambia:
Zimbabwe Parliament of Zimbabwe:
Former legislatures •
Allied Control Council: •
Congress of the Confederate States: • Acts of the
Governor General of India in Council: •
Parliament of Rhodesia: •
Legislature of the Government of the Ryukyu Islands: ==Territorial legislatures==