Difference Between Legislation and Regulation

Legislation Vs Regulation

Legislation is a directive placed by a government or governing body on either an industry, a section of community or placed on people of a country which must be complied with in order to remain within the legal boundaries of that particular country, community or industry. In industry, legislation acts as an external driver which must be met by all players in order to be compliant. Legislation is passed as laws by a parliament of a country or some other legislative arm of a government. After legislation is passed, there will be regulators, usually government bodies, who will examine the laws passed and work out the details that need to be enforced so that they are followed. For instance a parliament may pass a legislation that enforces a uniform interconnection fee for telecommunication service providers in a country, and then a government department (regulator) of communications will detail the nitty-gritty of the legislation and enforce it. At times before a part of legislation becomes a law, it may be referred to as a bill. Some countries require legislation to be validated by the executive (usually President) before it could be enforced as law. Commonly a member of the governing body or legislature will propose legislation or by the executive, which then becomes open for debate by legislators. Amendments are usually made before it is finally passed. Government legislative priorities often determine whether a given bill is proposed and enforced as law.

A regulation refers to a specific requirement that can take on various forms, such as industry specific regulation or regulations that are much broader in scope. They are basically the way the legislation is enforced by regulators and they support the requirements of the legislation. In industry, they specify the particular formal (legal) requirements that need to be followed by organizations, workers and employers alike so as to create a level playing field within the competitive environment of the organizations as well as within a particular organization. This is so because regulations address product safety, consumer protection and other factors in public interest. The thing with regulations is that they could either be internally or externally developed so as a means of compliance, they may be developed through technical specifications or may be through some standards in the private sector.

Summary:
1. Legislation is a directive proposed by a legislative body while a regulation is a specific requirement within legislation.
2. Legislation is broader and more general while regulation is specific and details how legislation is enforced.
3. Legislation may be proposed by a head of state while regulations are simply enforcements by regulators and head of state doesn’t interfere.
4. Legislation is almost always internally generated within a country’s government while regulations may be internally or externally generated, especially pertaining to certain industry.

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