Editing Statutory instrument (UK) (section)

=== Henry VIII clauses ===
Some statutory instruments are made under provisions of Acts which allow the instrument to change the parent Act itself, or to change other primary legislation. These provisions, allowing primary legislation to be amended by secondary legislation, are known as '''Henry VIII clauses''', or Henry VIII powers,<ref>Department for International Trade, [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2017-2019/0122/Trade-Bill-Delegated-Powers-Memorandum.pdf Trade Bill: Delegated Powers, Memorandum by the Department for International Trade], accessed 17 July 2018</ref> because an early example of such a power was conferred on [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]] by the [[Statute of Proclamations 1539]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/glossary.cfm?ref=henryvi_6723|title=Henry VIII clauses}}</ref> After the enactment of the [[Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002]] (which permitted the Secretary of State to make changes using Henry VIII powers), the [[Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Select Committee]] of the [[House of Lords]] issued a report concerning the use and drafting of such clauses,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Select Committee |author-link=Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Select Committee |date=2002-12-11 |title=Henry VIII Powers To Make Incidental, Consequential And Similar Provision |place=London |publisher=The Stationery Office |isbn=0-10-482310-0 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200203/ldselect/lddelreg/21/2101.htm |access-date=2008-11-04}}</ref> which its chairman remarked go "right to the heart of the key constitutional question of the limits of executive power".<ref>{{cite hansard |url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2003-01-14a.165.2|title=Delegated Legislation|house=House of Lords |date=2003-01-14 |column_start=165 |column_end=187}}</ref> Such clauses have often proved controversial, because they allow changes to the law without a vote in Parliament at any stage.<ref name=Walker>Peter Walker, [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/feb/01/uk-government-use-of-henry-viii-clauses-to-be-challenged-in-court UK government use of Henry VIII clauses to be challenged in court], ''The Guardian'' (February 1, 2021).</ref>

[[Igor Judge, Baron Judge|Lord Judge]] spoke strongly against such clauses when he was [[Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales]]: "You can be sure that when these Henry VIII clauses are introduced they will always be said to be necessary. [[William Pitt the Younger|William Pitt]] warned us how to treat such a plea with disdain. 'Necessity is the justification for every infringement of human liberty: it is the argument of tyrants, the creed of slaves.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite web|author=Stephen Argument|url=https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/434345/HenryVIII-Fact-Sheet.pdf|title=Henry VIII clauses Fact sheet|publisher=[[Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly]], Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety|page=5|date=November 2011}}</ref>

The government (specifically the [[Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy]]) controversially used Henry VIII powers to abolish EU rules on [[state aid]] (which had been incorporated into UK domestic law after [[Brexit]]). In 2021, the [[Good Law Project]] has challenged this move, arguing that the use of Henry VIII powers for such a purpose is [[Constitution of the United Kingdom|constitutionally]] questionable.<ref name=Walker/>