# statute

> formal written document that creates law, including acts, executive orders, and by-laws

**Wikidata**: [Q820655](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q820655)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/statute

## Summary
A **statute** is a formal written document that creates law, encompassing acts, executive orders, and by-laws. It is a foundational legal concept, classified as both a written work and a rule, and serves as the manifestation of statutory law. Statutes are created through legislation and function as the official record of legal rules enacted by a government or authority.

## Key Facts
- **Definition:** A formal written document that creates law, including acts, executive orders, and by-laws.
- **Classification:** Instance of a "legal term or legal concept" and a subclass of "written work," "document," and "rule."
- **Function:** Acts as a manifestation of statutory law and has "legal norm" as one of its parts.
- **Creation:** Follows "draft laws" and is caused by "legislation" or a "legal act."
- **Effect:** Results in "statutory law."
- **Copyright Status:** Generally in the public domain in the United States (per "edict of government doctrine") and France, as they are official legal documents not subject to copyright.
- **Equivalents:** Equivalent to `https://schema.org/Legislation`.
- **Library Codes:** Dewey Decimal 342.057 and 348.02.
- **Identifiers:** Wikidata ID is implied as the source; GND ID: 4020660-9; Library of Congress Authority ID: sh85127611.

## FAQs
**What exactly constitutes a statute?**
A statute is a formal written document enacted to create law. This broad category specifically includes acts passed by legislatures, executive orders, and by-laws. It is the physical or formal expression of a legal rule.

**Is a statute the same thing as a law?**
While closely related, they are distinct in classification. A statute is specifically the *written document* or *act* that creates the law, whereas "law" is the broader system. Statutes are considered a subclass of "written work" and "document," and are differentiated from general concepts of "legislation" or "legal act" in knowledge systems.

**Are statutes copyrighted?**
In many jurisdictions, such as the United States and France, statutes are in the public domain. The "edict of government doctrine" establishes that official legal documents like judicial opinions, administrative rulings, and legislative enactments are not copyrightable due to public policy.

## Why It Matters
Statutes are the primary instruments through which government authority is formally exercised and recorded. They matter because they provide the concrete, written evidence of legal rules—statutory law—that govern society. Unlike abstract legal theories, a statute is the tangible "manifestation of statutory law," serving as the definitive reference point for courts, citizens, and administrators. By encompassing everything from local by-laws to executive orders, statutes ensure that legal mandates are documented, accessible, and enforceable. Their status as public domain documents in jurisdictions like the U.S. further ensures that the public has unrestrained access to the laws they must follow, reinforcing the principles of open government and the rule of law.

## Notable For
- **Foundational Legal Concept:** Recognized globally as a core legal term, documented in major encyclopedias including the *Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia*, *Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary*, and *Otto's encyclopedia*.
- **Global Standardization:** Serves as the real-world equivalent for the `https://schema.org/Legislation` class used in structured data on the web.
- **Public Domain Status:** Notable for its exemption from copyright restrictions in the United States and France, ensuring public accessibility to legal texts.
- **Widespread Coverage:** A highly interconnected entity with Wikipedia articles in over 100 languages, including Aragonese, Arabic, Belarusian, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
- **Extensive Library Classification:** Cataloged under the Dewey Decimal system (342.057, 348.02) and assigned authority IDs by the Library of Congress (sh85127611), Bibliothèque nationale de France (120485802), and the National Library of Spain (XX528757).

## Body

### Definition and Scope
A **statute** is defined as a formal written document that creates law. It serves as a specific legal term and concept, functioning as the concrete manifestation of statutory law. While often discussed alongside "law" or "legislation," it is taxonomically classified as a subclass of "written work," "document," and "rule." It is distinct from but related to concepts such as "eve" or "vigil," and differentiated from "Wet" and "Law."

### Types and Composition
The term "statute" acts as an umbrella category for several specific types of legal instruments. It includes:
- **Acts:** Laws or statutes passed by a legislature.
- **Executive Orders:** Directives issued by an executive authority.
- **By-laws:** Rules made by a local authority or corporation.

Structurally, a statute is composed of "legal norms" and is itself a "part of" the broader concepts of "law" and "legal act." Its creation is preceded by "draft laws" and is caused by the act of "legislation."

### Copyright and Public Policy
Statutes hold a unique status in copyright law. In the United States, they are considered "public domain" based on the "edict of government doctrine." This policy dictates that official legal documents—including judicial opinions, administrative rulings, legislative enactments, and public ordinances—are not copyrightable. This applies regardless of whether the document is Federal, State, or local. A similar public domain status is noted for France. This ensures that the laws governing the public are freely owned by the public.

### Global Identifiers and Authority Control
The concept of a statute is heavily indexed across global knowledge bases and library systems:
- **Wikidata:** The entity has a sitelink count of 117 and is described as a formal written document.
- **Library Systems:** It holds the Library of Congress Authority ID `sh85127611` and the Bibliothèque nationale de France ID `120485802`. The National Library of Spain identifies it as `XX528757` ("Leyes").
- **German Systems:** The GND ID is `4020660-9`, where it is categorized as "Gesetz" (Law) or "gesetzliche Regelung" (statutory regulation).
- **Thesauri:** The Art & Architecture Thesaurus lists two relevant entries: `300027891` for "statutes" (acts of a legislature) and `300027889` for "legislative acts." The PACTOLS thesaurus ID is `pcrt2XKbjOmPcT`.
- **Other IDs:** BNCF Thesaurus ID 7904; YSO ID 4200 (säädökset); HDS ID 030903; NDL Authority ID 00563423.

### Structured Data and Web Ontology
Statutes are modeled in semantic web technologies:
- **Schema.org:** The entity is an "equivalent class" to `https://schema.org/Legislation`.
- **Knowledge Graphs:** It has a Google Knowledge Graph ID `/g/120kn55l` and a BabelNet ID `00050588n`.
- **KBpedia:** ID "Statute" (referenced 2020-07-09).
- **Properties:** Properties associated with this entity type include P467, P17 (country), P1001 (applies to jurisdiction), P2567, P2568, P3148, P7588, P953, and P9681.

### Educational and Cultural Context
Statutes are a standard subject in educational and encyclopedic resources. It has a dedicated Vikidia article (eu:Lege, fr:Loi) and a Klexikon article (Gesetz). It is described by sources such as the *Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia* (Volume 8, page 383), the *Great Russian Encyclopedia* (portal ID zakon-23ecdb), and the *Encyclopedia of Korean Culture* (E0022648). It is also cataloged in museum contexts, with a Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging ID (`13378` for statute, `13377` for act) and a museum_digital_tag_id of `4605`. The main category for this topic is "Category:Act."

## References

1. [Source](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/kanun--hukuk)
2. [Nuovo soggettario](https://thes.bncf.firenze.sbn.it/termine.php?id=7904)
3. Integrated Authority File
4. [Registros de autoridad de "Materia" de la Biblioteca Nacional de España. Spain open data portal](https://www.bne.es/media/datosgob/catalogo-autoridades/materia/materia-UTF8.zip)
5. YSO-Wikidata mapping project
6. BabelNet
7. [Compendium of Office Practices II](https://web.archive.org/web/20110211214553/http://ipmall.info/hosted_resources/CopyrightCompendium/chapter_0200.asp)
8. National Library of Israel Names and Subjects Authority File
9. KBpedia
10. GF WordNet