Editing Statute (section)

{{short description|Formal written document that creates law}}
{{other uses|General Statutes (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Statue}}
[[File:GDL Statute.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Statute of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], written in [[Polish language|Polish]]]]
A '''statute''' is a law or formal written enactment of a [[legislature]].<ref name=LII>{{Cite web |title=statute |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/statute#:~:text=A%20statute%20is%20a%20law,or%20the%20Sarbanes-Oxley%20Act%20. |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=[[Legal Information Institute|LII / Legal Information Institute]] |publisher=[[Cornell Law School]]}}</ref><ref name=Blacks>{{cite book
 |last      = Black
 |first     = Henry Campbell
 |title     = Black's Law Dictionary: Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern
 |edition   = 6th
 |publisher = [[West Publishing]]
 |year      = 1990
 |location  = 
 |page      = [https://archive.org/details/blackslawdiction00henr/page/1410 1410]
 |isbn      = 0-314-76271-X
 |url       = https://archive.org/details/blackslawdiction00henr/page/1410
}}</ref> Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something.<ref name=Blacks/> Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as [[common law]]) in that they are the expressed will of a legislative body,<ref name=Blacks/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bavis |first=Barbara |title=Research Guides: American Women: Resources from the Law Library: Types of Law and Jurisdiction |url=https://guides.loc.gov/american-women-law/types-of-law |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=guides.loc.gov |language=en}}</ref> whether that be on the behalf of a country, state or province, county, [[municipality]], or so on.<ref name="Blacks" /> Depending on the legal system, a statute may also be referred to as an "act."<ref name=LII /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Reference |first=Librarians |title=Highline College Library: Introduction to Law: Statutory Law |url=https://library.highline.edu/c.php?g=344547&p=2320275 |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=library.highline.edu |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Statute |url=https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/statutes/ |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=www.parliament.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a statute? :: Iowa People's Law Library |url=https://www.peopleslawiowa.org/index.php/how-do-i/legal-research/finding-statutes/what-statute |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=www.peopleslawiowa.org}}</ref>