Nondelegation doctrine
theory of constitutional law
The doctrine of nondelegation (or non-delegation principle) is the theory that one branch of government must not authorize another entity to exercise the power or function which it is constitutionally authorized to exercise itself. It is explicit or implicit in all written constitutions that impose a strict structural separation of powers. It is usually applied in questions of constitutionally improper delegations of powers of one branch of government to another branch, to the administrative state, or to private entities. Although it is usually constitutional for executive officials to delegate executive powers to executive branch subordinates, there can also be improper delegations of powers within an executive branch.
In the United Kingdom, the non-delegation principle refers to the prima facie presumption that statutory powers granted to public bodies by Parliament cannot be delegated to other people or bodies.
Australia
Australian federalism does not permit the federal Parliament or government to delegate its powers to state parliaments or governments. However, it does permit a state parliament to delegate its powers to the federal parliament by means of section 51(xxxvii) of the Australian Constitution.
Canada
Canadian federalism does not permit Parliament or the provincial legislatures to delegate their powers to each other. See: Attorney General of Nova Scotia v. Attorney General of Canada, [1951] S.C.R. 31
United States
In the federal government of the United States, the nondelegation doctrine is the theory that the Congress of the United States, being vested with "all legislative powers" by Article One, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, cannot delegate that power to anyone else.
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This entry incorporates text from “Nondelegation doctrine” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.