# When a new legislative body takes over, do they spend their first few days writing EVERY MUNDANE LAW? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321 "2022-04-05T15:08:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/1 "2022-04-05T15:08:36Z")
OK, when a new regime takes over, or a new constitution is put into effect, or a breakaway province gains independence, does the new legislative body start their careers by writing every mundane law that a country needs to function? Did the 1st Congress of the United States spend Day One writing the legal equivalent of “thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit murder,” etc. etc. etc.? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/2 "2022-04-05T15:17:16Z")
From what I gather, they just basically adopted/adapted the preceding legal statues and precedents which was Common Law, and eventually re-codified them later on. Here’s a brief history of how it went down in Texas, for example: [Texas Statutes - Researching Texas Law: Constitution & Statutes - Research Guides at Texas A&M University School of Law (libguides.com)](https://law.tamu.libguides.com/c.php?g=513877&p=4146200#:~:text=In%201854%2C%20the%20Texas%20Legislature,Criminal%20Procedure%20were%20officially%20codified.) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/3 "2022-04-05T15:46:46Z")
The U.S. used the existing Articles of Confederation as a general guide. Mundane laws had already been established by the individual states. The first Congress enacted - to modern eyes - a tiny number of new acts, 26 in all, almost all of them relating to the big stuff: creating cabinet positions, levying duties, creating territories and a court system, and allowing themselves to get paid. They can be found in [Statutes at Large, volume 1, 1789](https://www.loc.gov/item/llsl-v1/) ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/4 "2022-04-05T15:46:46Z")
The key word here is [reception statute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reception_statute) - a statutory provision that stipulated that English common law remained in place. Many former British colonies, including the thirteen founding states of 1776, had such provisions, often in the constitution. That approach is quite common in cases of regime change, precisely to avoid the need for a statutory enactment of every detailed provision that might become necessary. For instance, Germany’s post-war 1949 constitution stipulated that prior law remained in effect unless it was incompatible with the new constitution (a question that was left for courts to figure out over time). ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/5 "2022-04-05T17:20:39Z")
A more recent example is (_said he through gritted teeth_) Brexit, where the UK Parliament legislated that existing laws applied while we were members continued to apply after Brexit unless and until any were replaced. (Conversely, joining the EU means a massively detailed process of adaptation/amendment of previous laws and regulations to bring them into line with EU law) ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/6 "2022-04-05T18:33:03Z")
As an example, my home state has this: > W.Va. Code §2-1-1. Common law. > > The common law of England, so far as it is not repugnant to the principles of the Constitution of this state, shall continue in force within the same, except in those respects wherein it was altered by the general assembly of Virginia before June 20, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, or has been, or shall be, altered by the Legislature of this state So basically what was said above: everything stays the same unless and until we change it. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/7 "2022-04-05T18:34:40Z")
Also the all important second part of the statute: > W.Va. Code §2-1-2. Ancient lights. > > The common law of England in regard to ancient lights is not in force in this state. If you get all law nerdy, then that might take up a few hours of your time. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/8 "2022-04-06T03:13:04Z")
Another example: Constitution of Ireland, Article 50: “Subject to this Constitution and to the extent to which they are not inconsistent therewith, the laws in force in Saorstát Éireann immediately prior to the date of the coming into operation of this Constitution shall continue to be of full force and effect until the same or any of them shall have been repealed or amended by enactment of the Oireachtas.” I’d imagine this is a pretty routine provision included whenever a state is legally rebooted, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/9 "2022-04-06T03:34:54Z")
I’ll just note that, in the case of the US Federal government, there wasn’t any real need to create laws against murder, etc. because laws of that nature are generally handled by the states and the states already had all those laws. The first Congress did end up passing some basic laws in 1790, confined to the seas and military bases, but it wasn’t their first stop on the legislative laundry list. > **[Crimes Act of 1790](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimes_Act_of_1790)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The Crimes Act of 1790 (or the Federal Criminal Code of 1790), formally titled An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes Against the United States, defined some of the first federal crimes in the United States and expanded on the criminal procedure provisions of the Judiciary Act of 1789. The Crimes Act was a "comprehensive statute defining an impressive variety of federal crimes". > As an enactment of the First Congress, the Crimes Act is ofte... ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/10 "2022-04-06T03:49:18Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > The key word here is [reception statute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reception_statute) - a statutory provision that stipulated that English common law remained in place. Many former British colonies, including the thirteen founding states of 1776, had such provisions, often in the constitution. There is a difference between reception statutes and continuation statutes, although they are often confused. Reception statutes govern the initial reception of English common law and statutes, in a British colony. Continuation statutes provide that the English common law and statutes continue in force after a change of sovereignty. Most of the statutes being discussed here, for the US and Ireland, are _continuation_ statutes. English / British law already applied in them prior to the change in sovereignty. Ontario and Quebec have reception statutes, that determine that English law will apply (in part for Quebec; in whole for Ontario). The Quebec reception statute is the _Quebec Act, 1774_, while the reception statute for Ontario is the very first Act of the Parliament of Upper Canada, enacted in 1791, ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/11 "2022-04-06T11:34:21Z")
Similar to other examples, the transitional constitution in South Africa that came into force at the end of apartheid contained the clause > Subject to this Constitution, all laws which immediately before the commencement of this Constitution were in force in any area which forms part of the national territory, shall continue in force in such area, subject to any repeal or amendment of such laws by a competent authority. This despite the fact that many of the laws were created by authorities that had come to be seen as illegitimate, such as the pseudo-independent [homelands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantustan). Obviously there is a huge amount of administrative and financial trouble avoided by keeping the same laws in place. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/12 "2022-04-06T12:36:07Z")
Canada also has a continuation clause in the _Constitution Act, 1867_, which provides that the existing laws from the provinces, prior to 1867, could be amended either federally or provincially, post 1867, depending on the subject matter. But, not a reception clause, since the reception had already occurred much earlier, when those provinces were set up (maritimes), or came under British control (Quebec), or were created (Upper Canada). ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/13 "2022-04-14T07:51:50Z")
Which in some places in the former British Indian Empire has caused major issues due to the…diverse nature of sovereignty exercised by the Crown or Empire (which were separate things legally). Generally, as more and more places were annexed, they did not get receiving statutes, instead a legal code was enacted for them (lots of the code were admittedly just restatements of common law). However, some places did get receiving statutes. All got continuing statutes after Independence. Therefore sometimes as a lawyer you can get badly tripped up. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/14 "2022-04-14T10:26:06Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > OK, when a new regime takes over, or a new constitution is put into effect, or a breakaway province gains independence, does the new legislative body start their careers by writing every mundane law that a country needs to function? It depends on the country, and on how much time they had to prepare. New constitutions don’t usually require rewriting all existing laws from scratch—many countries have replaced their constitutions wholesale several times without disturbing existing statutes. As others have pointed out, countries that secede from another country will usually keep the old one’s laws in force until such time as they’re individually repealed and replaced. (If the secessionists had time to prepare, then they might at least have a new constitution ready by the time independence is declared.) Or alternatively, upon independence the country might provisionally adopt the laws of a country other than the one they seceded from. This arguably happened with Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, which upon independence re-instituted the constitutions and laws that were in force before those countries were incorporated into the Soviet Union. Similarly, when Transnistria declared independence from the Republic of Moldova (which itself had declared independence from the USSR), it declared that the old Soviet-era laws, not the newer ones of independent Moldova, remained in force. Even when a country undergoes a revolution that is nearly completely antithetical to the old regime, the previous laws usually remain on the books, at least initially. In 1917 the Bolsheviks instructed their People’s Courts to apply the old Tsarist laws, insofar as they didn’t conflict with “revolutionary conscience”. Another decree in 1918 reaffirmed that courts were to generally operate in accordance with the Tsarist statutes of 1864, and to publically document any necessary deviations. This turned out to be impractical, so a third decree near the end of 1918 effectively suspended Tsarist law and instructed judges to instead render decisions in accordance with their own “revolutionary consciousness” and with the "enactments of the Workers and Peasants Government. This too turned out to be unworkable, or at least rife with inconsistency and abuse, since the “Workers and Peasants Government” hadn’t yet come up with a complete and uniform criminal code. The government circulated a set of “Guiding Principles” in 1919, but didn’t formally adopt a full set of criminal laws until 1922. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/15 "2022-04-14T11:06:17Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > As an example, my home state has this: > > > W.Va. Code §2-1-1. Common law. > > > > The common law of England, so far as it is not repugnant to the principles of the Constitution of this state, shall continue in force within the same, except in those respects wherein it was altered by the general assembly of Virginia before June 20, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, or has been, or shall be, altered by the Legislature of this state This is the standard, I believe. Here’s Florida’s version > [@](#): > > 2.01 Common law and certain statutes declared in force.—The common and statute laws of England which are of a general and not a local nature, with the exception hereinafter mentioned, down to the 4th day of July, 1776, are declared to be of force in this state; provided, the said statutes and common law be not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States and the acts of the Legislature of this state. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/16 "2022-04-14T12:58:54Z")
Sorry, can’t resist: **Mundane** laws may need modification while **Magical** laws are, of course, immutable. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/17 "2022-04-14T13:27:37Z")
I’m not really well read on this, but it’s my understanding that after the feudal Shogunate government fell and they eventually made the [Meiji Constitution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Constitution) of 1890, it took a major amount of work to create a body of law compatible with a modern nation. After Japan was defeated and the new constitution was created (pretty much by the American GHQ) certain laws were changed, of course, and others modified, but not nearly to the same scale. This isn’t a field I’m really familiar with so if anyone knows more, I’d love to hear about it. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/18 "2022-04-14T13:31:16Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Which in some places in the former British Indian Empire has caused major issues due to the…diverse nature of sovereignty exercised by the Crown or Empire (which were separate things legally). > Generally, as more and more places were annexed, they did not get receiving statutes, instead a legal code was enacted for them (lots of the code were admittedly just restatements of common law). However, some places did get receiving statutes. > All got continuing statutes after Independence. > > Therefore sometimes as a lawyer you can get badly tripped up. That sounds insanely complicated, but not surprising, given the way Britain gradually gained control over British India and the princely states. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/19 "2022-04-15T01:23:44Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > This is the standard, I believe. > > Here’s Florida’s version In addition, this isn’t just some nerdy lawyer wank. It has real consequences for people. Take my state’s homicide statutes: W.Va. Code 61-2-1 > Murder by poison, lying in wait, imprisonment, starving, or by any willful, deliberate and premeditated killing, or in the commission of, or attempt to commit, arson, kidnapping, sexual assault, robbery, burglary, breaking and entering, escape from lawful custody, or a felony offense of manufacturing or delivering a controlled substance as defined in article four, chapter sixty-a of this code, is murder of the first degree. All other murder is murder of the second degree. W.Va. Code 61-2-4 > Voluntary manslaughter shall be punished by a definite term of imprisonment in the penitentiary which is not less than three nor more than fifteen years. A person imprisoned pursuant to the provisions of this section is not eligible for parole prior to having served a minimum of three years of his or her sentence or the minimum period required by the provisions of section thirteen, article twelve, chapter sixty-two, whichever is greater. The question then comes to mind, what is murder? What is voluntary manslaughter? The statutes are silent and one must resort to the common law for answers. If a WV court case doesn’t really answer a particular thing, sometimes (rarely) we go back to a pre-1863 VA court case, or even an English case prior to 1776, all of which would be binding authority. This confuses a lot of laypeople (and Sov Cits to the nth degree) because they believe that the words must be right there or else it doesn’t apply. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321/20 "2022-04-15T02:17:57Z")
As mentioned upthread, when the province of Upper Canada was created in 1719, split off from the old Province of Quebec, the very first law dealt with the issue of the governing system of law. SUC, c. 1, provided that English law would replace French law for private civil law: > [@](#): > > _An Act to repeal certain parts of an Act paſſed in the Fourteenth Year of His Majeſty’s Reign, entitled “An Act for making more effectual Provision for the Government of the province of Quebec, in North-America, and to introduce the Engliſh law, as the Rule of Deciſion in all matters of Controverſy relative to Property and Civil Rights.”_ > … > III. _And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid,_ That from and after the paſſing of this act, in all matters of controverſy relative to property and civil rights, reſort ſhall be had to the laws of England as the rule for the deciſion of the ſame. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-new-legislative-body-takes-over-do-they-spend-their-first-few-days-writing-every-mundane-law/962321.md?page=2)