Phase-out clause (law)

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A sunset clause (also: expiry clause override clause in US law also: sunset clause or sunset provision derived therefrom rare: sunset clause ) is in a law provision contained that determines its expiry, unless the legislature is not an extension or resolves an identical law again. Until the specified time (hence the comparison in English: sunset) the legislature can make use of a right of recall and change the law - often through a shortened procedure. If the deadline expires , a new legislative procedure must be carried out. From a legal point of view, it is a condition subsequent .

Examples

  • The expiry clause has its origin in the Roman legal institution of the mandate , the authorization of the Senate at the time of the republic to collect troops and taxes for certain tasks, which was limited in terms of subject matter and time. Such authorizations ended before an electoral office was completed (for example as a consul or proconsul) in order to ensure their unique or limited character. The legal rule Ad tempus concessa post tempus censetur denegata originates from this period (what is granted for a limited period of time is automatically denied after the time has elapsed). A breakthrough took place with the unrestricted dictatorial authority of Cæsar as Dictator Perpetuus , which led to a constitutional crisis. The same was true of the Senate's emergency laws. However, the principle has been preserved in all areas of law and was later codified in Codex Iustinianus 10, 61, 1.
  • Europe: For example, phase-out clauses were found in the European draft constitution . The ECSC Treaty was concluded for a period of 50 years and expired on July 23, 2002.
  • Germany : There are phase-out clauses on several levels in German legislation.
    • In the Basic Law , a general expiry clause of 6 months is provided for emergency legislation - Art. 115k Para. 2 GG.
    • In federal laws, phase-out clauses are occasionally used for laws with a pilot character or in order to achieve a majority at all, by making the agreement of a further legislative resolution in the next legislature. The Anti-Terrorism Files Act should expire on December 30, 2017. However, it has now been extended.
    • In state legislation in particular, expiry clauses are common, for example in Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia .
  • United States : The United States has a long history of using sunset clauses. In particular, in the discussion about the laws under the Patriot Act in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , the sunset clause gained broader public interest. The sunset clause occupies a special position in the state of Texas , where state institutions and authorities (with the exception of universities and courts, for example) are checked for their raison d'etre every twelve years, as well as in Alabama - but there with a four-year cycle and a narrower number of authorities. A sunset clause was first inserted in the party-politically motivated Alien and Sedition Acts as early as 1798. Three of the Alien and Sedition Acts expired at the end of President Adam's term of office, so that the laws could not be used against his own party.
  • United Kingdom : In the United Kingdom, income tax legislation is renewed annually on the basis of the sunset clause principle.
  • Canada : In Canada, laws enacted under Article 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are subject to a sunset clause of 5 years. This allows laws to be passed for such a period of time that contradict other points of the Canadian Constitution without there being any judicial review.
  • Australia : In Australia, a five-year sunset clause was passed for the anti-terror laws passed in 2005.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Keyword "sunset". In: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 1996. Credo Reference. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  2. ↑ Article 97 of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community http://www.politische-union.de/egksv
  3. ↑ Article 5 Paragraph 2 of the Act on the Establishment of Joint Files for Police Authorities and Intelligence Services of the Federal Government and the Länder (Joint Files Act) ( Federal Law Gazette 2006 I p. 3409 )
  4. ↑ Art. 4 sentence 3 of the law amending the Anti-Terrorism Files Act and other laws of December 18, 2014, Federal Law Gazette 2014 I p. 2318