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Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged creation of law by a single person or group, and is used primarily by dictator
Dictator

A dictator is an authoritarian ruler who assumes sole and absolute power without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship....
s and absolute monarchs, although philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben
Giorgio Agamben

Giorgio Agamben is an Italy philosophy who teaches at the University Iuav of Venice. He also teaches at the Coll?ge International de Philosophie in Paris, at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and previously taught at the University of Macerata and at the University of Verona, both in Italy....
 have argued that it has been generalized since World War I in all modern states, including representative democracies.

The expression is also sometimes used as a pejorative and polemical hyperbole
Hyperbole

Hyperbole comes from ancient Greek "?pe?????" and is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is rarely meant to be taken literally....
 when describing actions of democratic governments that are perceived to unduly bypass parliamentarian or popular scrutiny.

Rule by decree
Decree

A decree is an order made by a head of state or head of government and having the force of law. The particular term used for this concept may vary from country to country — the Executive order s made by the president of the United States, for example, are decrees....
 allows the ruler to arbitrarily create law, without approval by a legislative assembly.

When states of emergency such as martial law
Martial law

Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect when the military takes control of the normal administration of justice.Martial law is sometimes imposed during wars or occupied territory in the absence of any other civil government....
 are in place rule by decree is common.






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Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged creation of law by a single person or group, and is used primarily by dictator
Dictator

A dictator is an authoritarian ruler who assumes sole and absolute power without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship....
s and absolute monarchs, although philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben
Giorgio Agamben

Giorgio Agamben is an Italy philosophy who teaches at the University Iuav of Venice. He also teaches at the Coll?ge International de Philosophie in Paris, at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and previously taught at the University of Macerata and at the University of Verona, both in Italy....
 have argued that it has been generalized since World War I in all modern states, including representative democracies.

The expression is also sometimes used as a pejorative and polemical hyperbole
Hyperbole

Hyperbole comes from ancient Greek "?pe?????" and is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is rarely meant to be taken literally....
 when describing actions of democratic governments that are perceived to unduly bypass parliamentarian or popular scrutiny.

Rule by decree
Decree

A decree is an order made by a head of state or head of government and having the force of law. The particular term used for this concept may vary from country to country — the Executive order s made by the president of the United States, for example, are decrees....
 allows the ruler to arbitrarily create law, without approval by a legislative assembly.

When states of emergency such as martial law
Martial law

Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect when the military takes control of the normal administration of justice.Martial law is sometimes imposed during wars or occupied territory in the absence of any other civil government....
 are in place rule by decree is common. While rule by decree is easily susceptible to the whims and corruption of the person in power, it is also highly efficient: a law can take weeks or months to pass in a legislature, but can be created with the stroke of a pen by a leader ruling by decree. This is what makes it valuable in emergency situations. Thus, it is allowed by many Constitutions, among which is the French Constitution
Constitution of France

The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the French Fourth Republic dating from 1946....
. U.S. presidential executive orders share some similarities with rule by decree.

The Lex Titia
Lex Titia

The Lex Titia was a Roman law passed on November 27, 43 BC, that granted triumvirates the right to rule for a period of five years. It is commonly known as the law that formalized and legalized the second triumvirate of Augustus, Mark Antony and Lepidus ....
 and Second Triumvirate
Second Triumvirate

The Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic....
 

One of the first examples of rule by decree was in the ancient Roman Republic
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 when, after the assassination of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
 in 44 BC, his successor, Gaius Octavian, general Mark Antony
Mark Antony

Marcus Antonius , known in English as Marc Antony, was a Roman Republic politician and General. He was an important supporter and the best friend of Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator, being Caesar's second cousin, once removed, by his mother Julia Antonia....
 and succeeding pontifex maximus
Pontifex Maximus

The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the Ancient Rome College of Pontiffs. This was the most important position in the Ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post....
 Aemilius Lepidus seized power in the Second Triumvirate, officially recognized by the senate
Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
 by the Lex Titia
Lex Titia

The Lex Titia was a Roman law passed on November 27, 43 BC, that granted triumvirates the right to rule for a period of five years. It is commonly known as the law that formalized and legalized the second triumvirate of Augustus, Mark Antony and Lepidus ....
 decree. The resolution, which gave the three 'triumvirs' authoritarian powers for five years, was enacted and reinstated consecutive in 38 BC. It finally collapsed in 33/32 BC, after the downfall of Lepidus, leading to the Final war of the Roman Republic
Final war of the Roman Republic

The final war of the Roman Republic, also known as Antony's civil war or the war between Antony and Octavian, was last of the Roman civil wars of the Roman republic, fought between Cleopatra and Augustus....
 and the total collapse of republican government.

The Reichstag Fire Decree of February 28, 1933

The most prominent example in history is the Reichstag Fire Decree
Reichstag Fire Decree

The Reichstag Fire Decree is the common name of the Order of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State issued by Germany President of Germany Paul von Hindenburg in direct response to the Reichstag building Reichstag fire of February 27, 1933....
. German President Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg

Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a German Generalfeldmarschall and statesman....
 was convinced by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born Germany politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party....
 to issue a decree suspending basic civil rights indefinitely. As a result of this decree, Nazi
Nazism

Nazism, officially National Socialism , refers to the ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Workers? Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945....
 authorities were able to constitutionally suppress or imprison their opposition, which in turn paved the way for the one-party rule of the Third Reich. The ensuing state of exception
State of emergency

A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans....
, which suspended the Constitution without repealing it, lasted until the end of the Third Reich.

Decrees in democratic regimes

Some democratic leaders, such as the presidents
President of Mexico

The Constitutional Citizen President of the United Mexican States is the head of state of Mexico. Under the 1917 Constitution of Mexico, the president is also the head of government and the Commander-in-chief of the Mexican Military of Mexico....
 of Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. have the constitutional authority to issue emergency decrees. The President of France may rule by decree in national emergencies, subject to constitutional
Constitution of France

The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the French Fourth Republic dating from 1946....
 and other legal limitations, but this power has been used only once.

Other modern political concepts, such as the French decree
Decree

A decree is an order made by a head of state or head of government and having the force of law. The particular term used for this concept may vary from country to country — the Executive order s made by the president of the United States, for example, are decrees....
s, Orders in Council in the British Commonwealth and American executive orders are partially based on this notion of decrees, although they are far more limited in scope and generally subject to judicial review
Judicial review

Judicial review is the power of the courts to annul the acts of the executive and/or the legislative power where it finds them incompatible with a higher norm....
.

Venezuela
Venezuela

Venezuela , officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a country on the northern coast of South America.The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands located off the Venezuelan coastline in the Caribbean Sea....
n President Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez

Hugo Rafael Ch?vez Fr?as is the current President of Venezuela. As the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Ch?vez promotes a political doctrine of participatory democracy, socialism and Latin American and Caribbean cooperation....
 has been granted power by the National Assembly to rule by decree for 18 months in early 2007. He intends to nationalize Venezuela's telecommunications and power industries and end foreign ownership of oil refineries as part of his Bolivarian Revolution
Bolivarian Revolution

The ?Bolivarian Revolution? refers to a social movement and political process in Venezuela led by Venezuelan president Hugo Ch?vez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement....
.

During the Indian Emergency from 1975 to 1977, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was the Prime Minister of the Republic of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977and for a fourth term from 1980 until her Assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, a total of fifteen years....
 got laws passed that allowed her to rule by decree.

Giorgio Agamben's critique of the use of decrees-law

Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben
Giorgio Agamben

Giorgio Agamben is an Italy philosophy who teaches at the University Iuav of Venice. He also teaches at the Coll?ge International de Philosophie in Paris, at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and previously taught at the University of Macerata and at the University of Verona, both in Italy....
 has claimed that there has been an explosion in the use of various types of decrees (decree-law, presidential decrees, executive orders, etc.) since World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
. According to him, this is the sign of a "generalization of the state of exception
State of emergency

A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans....
".

See also

  • Carlos Ibáńez del Campo
    Carlos Ibáńez del Campo

    General Carlos Ib??ez del Campo was a Chilean Army officer and political figure. He served as dictator between 1927 and 1931 and as constitutional President from 1952 to 1958....
    's rule in Chile during the Presidential Republic era
  • Executive order
  • Decree
    Decree

    A decree is an order made by a head of state or head of government and having the force of law. The particular term used for this concept may vary from country to country — the Executive order s made by the president of the United States, for example, are decrees....
  • Dictatorship
    Dictatorship

    A dictatorship is usually defined as an Autocracy form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator, without hereditary ascension....
  • Article 48
    Article 48 (Weimar Constitution)

    Article 48 of the Weimar constitution of the Weimar Republic of Germany allowed the President of Germany , under certain circumstances, to take "emergency measures" without the prior consent of the Reichstag ....
     of the 1919 constitution of Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
     (the Weimar Constitution
    Weimar constitution

    The Constitution of the German Reich , usually known as the Weimar Constitution was the constitution that governed the Weimar Republic ....
    )
  • Silvio Berlusconi
    Silvio Berlusconi

    is an Politics of Italy, entrepreneur, real estate and insurance tycoon, bank and media proprietor, sports team owner and songwriter. He is the second longest-serving Prime Minister of Italy , a position he has held on three separate occasions: from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006 and currently since 2008....
    's IV government
    Berlusconi IV Cabinet

    The Berlusconi IV Cabinet has been the Cabinet of the Politics of Italy since 8 May 2008.It is composed of 22 ministers and 39 under-secretaries, for a total of 61 members....
    .