statute, in law, a formal, written enactment by the authorized powers of a state. The term is usually not applied to a written constitution but is restricted to the enactments of a legislature. Statute law is to be distinguished chiefly from common law, which may be defined as the body of legal rules derived from judicial decisions and custom. On most of the European continent all (or nearly all) the law is statutory and each field is subsumed by a code. In England and the United States, however, common law retains great importance, but with the expansion of government regulation there has been an immense growth in the statute law of those countries. In order to guide the courts many important statutes contain (usually in a preamble) a statement of the abuses that the legislation is intended to cure or of the general legislative intent. Statutes are classified in various ways. Public statutes (e.g., those establishing crimes) are universal in application, while private statutes (e.g., one compensating a named person for injury) are limited. Public statutes may be local, i.e., affecting only part of the area over which the legislature has authority, or general. Statutes that explain or clarify previous enactments or rules of common law are sometimes called declaratory statutes.

Westminster, Statute of, 1931, in British imperial history, an act of the British Parliament that gave formal recognition to the autonomy of the dominions of the British Empire and was in effect the founding charter of the British Commonwealth of Nations. It declared that the Commonwealth was a free association of autonomous dominions and Great Britain, bound only by common allegiance to the throne, and specified that the British Parliament might not legislate for the dominions except at their request and subject to their assent and that the dominion legislatures were on an equal footing with that of Great Britain. The statute implemented the work of various meetings of the Imperial Conference, which had recognized the virtual independence of the dominions that came into being as a result of World War I and the peace settlements thereafter.

Statute of Frauds: see Frauds, Statute of.

Frauds, Statute of, basis of most modern laws requiring that certain promises must be in writing in order to be enforceable; it was passed by the English Parliament in 1677. In the United States, although state laws vary, most require written agreements in four types of contracts: contracts to assume the obligation of another; contracts that cannot be performed within one year; contracts for the sale of land; and contracts for the sale of goods.

Legislative act restricting the time within which legal proceedings may be brought, usually to a fixed period after the occurrence of the events that gave rise to the cause of action. Such statutes are enacted to protect persons against claims made after evidence has been lost, memories have faded, or witnesses have disappeared. The periods prescribed for different actions in different jurisdictions vary considerably.

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(1931) Parliamentary statute that effected the equality of Britain and the then-dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and Newfoundland. It confirmed declarations made at British imperial conferences in 1926 and 1930 that the self-governing dominions were to be regarded as “autonomous communities within the British Empire.” United in their allegiance to the crown, the countries individually controlled their own domestic and foreign affairs as equal members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

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(1931) Parliamentary statute that effected the equality of Britain and the then-dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and Newfoundland. It confirmed declarations made at British imperial conferences in 1926 and 1930 that the self-governing dominions were to be regarded as “autonomous communities within the British Empire.” United in their allegiance to the crown, the countries individually controlled their own domestic and foreign affairs as equal members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

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