decree

(dĭ-krē')

1. An authoritative order having the force of law.
2. Law. The judgment of a court of equity, admiralty, probate, or divorce.
3. Roman Catholic Church.
   1. A doctrinal or disciplinary act of an ecumenical council.
   2. An administrative act applying or interpreting articles of canon law.

[Middle English decre, from Old French decret, from Latin dēcrētum, principle, decision, from neuter past participle of dēcernere, to decide : dē-, de- + cernere, to sift.]

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noun

1. A principle governing affairs within or among political units: canon, edict, institute, law, ordinance, precept, prescription, regulation, rule. See law.
2. An authoritative or official decision, especially one made by a court: determination, edict, judgment, pronouncement, ruling. See law.

verb

1. To set forth expressly and authoritatively: dictate, fix, impose, lay down, ordain, prescribe. Idioms: call theshotstune, lay it on the line. See over/under.
2. To make a decision about (a controversy or dispute, for example) after deliberation, as in a court of law: adjudge, adjudicate, arbitrate, decide, determine, judge, referee, rule, umpire. See decide/hesitate, law.

A judgment of a court that announces the legal consequences of the facts found in a case and orders that the court's decision be carried out. A decree in equity is a sentence or order of the court, pronounced on hearing and understanding all the points in issue, and determining the rights of all the parties to the suit, according to equity and good conscience. It is a declaration of the court announcing the legal consequences of the facts found. With the procedural merger of law and equity in the federal and most state courts under the Rules of Civil Procedure, the term judgment has generally replaced decree.

A divorce decree sets out the conclusions of the court relating to the facts asserted as grounds for the divorce, and it subsequently dissolves the marriage.

Decree is sometimes used interchangeably with determination and order.

Tutor's tip: The mayor's "decree' (a legal or religious order) reduced the "degree" (the extent or amount of something) of graffiti downtown.

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• Acts, Powers, Conditions, and Procedures - decree: executive proclamation having force of law
• Decisions, Judgments, and Conditions - decree: final decision and judgment of court
• Reasoning and Informing - decree: order based on lawful authority

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A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for this concept may vary from country to country—the executive orders made by the President of the United States, for example, are decrees (although a decree is not exactly an order). In non-legal English usage, however, the term refers to any authoritarian decision and, in this sense, it is often derogatory.

Contents 1 France 2 Russia 3 Catholic Church 4 Other uses of the term 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

France

See Government of France.

The word décret, literally "decree", is an old legal usage in France and is used to refer to orders issued by the French President or Prime Minister. Any such order must not violate the French Constitution or Code of Law of France, and a party has the right to request an order be nullified in the French Council of State. Orders must be ratified by Parliament before they can be modified into legislative Acts. Special orders known as décret-loi, literally "decree-Act", usually considered an illegal practice under the 3rd and 4th Republic, were finally abolished and replaced by the ordinances under the 1958 Constitution.

Except for the reserve powers of the President (as stated in Art. 16 of the 1958 Constitution, exercised only once so far), the executive can issue decrees in areas that the Constitution grants as the responsibility of Parliament only if a law authorizes it to do so. In other cases, orders are illegal and, should anyone sue for the order's nullification, it would be voided by the Council of State. There exists a procedure for the Prime Minister to issue ordinances in such areas, but this procedure requires Parliament's express consent (see Art 38 of the 1958 Constitution).

Orders issued by the Prime Minister take two forms:

• Orders (décrets simples);
• Orders-in-council (décrets en Conseil d'État), when a statute mandates the advisory consultation of the Conseil d'État.

Sometimes, people refer to décrets en Conseil d'État improperly as décrets du Conseil d'État. This would imply that it is the Conseil d'État that takes the decree, whereas the power of decreeing is restricted to the President or Prime Minister; the role of the administrative sections of the Conseil is purely advisory.

Decrees may be classified into:

• regulations, which may be:
  • application decrees (décrets d'application), each of which must be specifically authorized by one or more statutes to determine some implementation conditions of this or these statutes; these constitute secondary legislation and are roughly equivalent to British statutory instruments;
  • autonomous regulations (règlement autonomes), which may be taken only in areas where the Constitution of France does not impose statute law (passed by the legislative branch); these constitute primary legislation;
• particular measures, such as the nomination of high-level civil servants.

Only the prime minister may issue regulatory or application decrees. Presidential decrees are generally nominations, or exceptional measures where law mandates a presidential decree, such as the dissolution of the French National Assembly and the calling of new legislative elections.

Decrees are published in the Journal Officiel de la République Française or "French Gazette". s

Russia

After the Russian Revolution, a government proclamation of wide meaning was called a "decree" (Russian: декрет, dekret); more specific proclamations were called ukaz. Both terms are usually translated as 'decree'.

According to the Russian Federation's 1993 constitution, an ukaz is a Presidential decree. Such ukazes have the power of laws, but may not alter the Russian constitution or the regulations of existing laws, and may be superseded by laws passed by the Federal Assembly. The Government of Russia can also issue decrees which will not contradict the constitution/laws or presidential decrees.

Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church uses decrees from the Pope such as a papal Bull, Papal Brief or Motu Proprio as legislative acts.^[1]

Other uses of the term

In some jurisdictions, certain types of court orders by judges are referred to as decrees.

See also

• Consent decree
• Edict
• Proclamation
• Rule by decree
• Rescript
• Soviet Decrees
• Ukase

Notes

1. ^ "Decree". Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04670a.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-17. 

References

• Executive decree authority, John M. Carey and Matthew Soberg Shugart, Eds., Cambridge University Press, 1998, ISBN 0521597226

External links

All external sites in French unless otherwise noted.

• 1946 Constitution of the 4th Republic
• 1958 Constitution of the 5th Republic

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - dekret, befaling, retskendelse
v. tr. - dekretere, forordne, bestemme
v. intr. - udstede en befaling

idioms:

• decree absolute    endelig skilsmissedom
• decree nisi    foreløbig skilsmissedom

Nederlands (Dutch)
verordenen, bevelen, verordening, vonnis

Français (French)
n. - (Pol, Relig) décret, (Jur) arrêt, jugement, arrêté (municipal)
v. tr. - (gén, Pol, Relig) décréter que, (Jur) ordonner que, arrêter que, décréter
v. intr. - décréter que, ordonner que

idioms:

• decree absolute    jugement définitif
• decree nisi    jugement provisoire de divorce

Deutsch (German)
n. - Dekret, Erlaß, Urteil
v. - dekretieren, verordnen

idioms:

• decree absolute    endgültiges Scheidungsurteil
• decree nisi    vorläufiges Scheidungsurteil

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - διάταγμα, θέσπισμα, προσταγή, (νομ.) δικαστική απόφαση
v. - θεσπίζω, αποφαίνομαι, ορίζω

idioms:

• decree absolute    τελική απόφαση δικαστηρίου (για διαζύγιο)
• decree nisi    (νομ.) προσωρινή απόφαση (διαζυγίου)

Italiano (Italian)
decretare, decreto, sentenza

idioms:

• decree absolute    sentenza definitiva
• decree nisi    sentenza provvisoria

Português (Portuguese)
n. - decreto (m)
v. - decretar(-se), ordenar(-se)

idioms:

• decree absolute    decreto (m) final permitindo novo casamento (Jur.)
• decree nisi    decreto (m) judicial provisório

Русский (Russian)
распорядиться, издать указ, указ, решение суда

idioms:

• decree absolute    окончательное решение (о разводе)
• decree nisi    предварительное решение (о разводе)

Español (Spanish)
n. - decreto, sentencia, fallo, veredicto
v. tr. - decretar
v. intr. - decretar, sentenciar, fallar

idioms:

• decree absolute    sentencia definitiva de divorcio
• decree nisi    sentencia provisional de divorcio

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - dekret, påbud
v. - påbjuda, bestämma

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
法令, 命令, 政令, 判决, 裁定, 教令, 赦令, 天意, 天命, 颁布, 注定, 颁布命令, 决定

idioms:

• decree absolute    绝对判决
• decree nisi    中间裁定, 附有一定期限

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 法令, 命令, 政令, 判決, 裁定, 教令, 赦令, 天意, 天命
v. tr. - 頒佈, 判決, 裁定, 命令, 注定
v. intr. - 頒佈命令, 注定, 決定

idioms:

• decree absolute    絕對判決
• decree nisi    中間裁定, 附有一定期限

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 판결, 법령, 계명
v. tr. - (율령을) 널리 알리다, (신이) 운명 짓다, 판결하다
v. intr. - 율령을 널리 알리다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 法令, 判決, 命令
v. - 布告する, …せよと命じる, 定める

idioms:

• decree absolute    離婚確定判決
• decree nisi    離婚仮判決

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حكم قضائي, أمر صادر عن سلطه أو نفوذ قانوني (فعل) يصدر حكما قضائيا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צו, פקודה, פסק-דין‬
v. tr. - ‮פסק, הוציא צו, גזר‬
v. intr. - ‮צו, פקודה, פסק-דין‬

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