Commencement of Legislation

Commencement is the point at which an enacted law, or a particular provision of it, begins to have legal operation. After the President assents to a constitutionally passed Bill under Article 111, it becomes an Act; however, the date on which it operates is determined by its commencement clause or, if none is specified, by the General Clauses Act, 1897. Thus, presidential assent and commencement may occur on the same date or on different dates.

From presidential assent to an Act

Article 111 requires a Bill passed by Parliament to be presented to the President. Once assent is given, the legislative process is completed and the Bill becomes an Act, but the Act's commencement provision must still be examined to determine when its legal obligations and powers become operative.

• The date of presidential assent is not necessarily the date on which every provision of the Act comes into force.
• An Act may legally exist even though some or all of its substantive provisions await commencement.

Ways in which an Act may commence

• An Act may expressly provide that it comes into force immediately or on the date of presidential assent.
• An Act may specify a fixed future calendar date on which it will automatically come into force.
• An Act may empower the Central Government to appoint the commencement date by notification in the Official Gazette.
• Where the Act authorises it, different dates may be appointed for different provisions or different parts of the Act.
• Until the required commencement notification is issued, provisions dependent on that notification ordinarily remain inoperative.
• Under section 5 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, if an Act of Parliament does not express a particular commencement day, it comes into operation on the day it receives the President's assent.

Role of the Official Gazette

The Gazette of India provides the official publication of enacted legislation and statutory notifications. Where an Act makes commencement dependent on a notification in the Official Gazette, that notification is the legal instrument through which the authorised government appoints the operative date.

• The commencement date is the date appointed under the Act, not necessarily the date of assent.
• Gazette publication does not alter an express commencement rule contained in the Act.
• An ordinary press release, circular or website announcement cannot replace a Gazette notification when the Act specifically requires such notification.

How UPSC asks this