EDITORIAL:
Compare with the term special law.
- Section 3.6.5 entitled "Positive Law"
- Section 5.4.2.2 entitled "Positive Law"
- Section 5.4.3 entitled "The Internal Revenue Code is Not Public
or Positive Law, but Private Law"
Lists all Titles of the United States Code that are Positive
Law.
About the Office and the United States Code
The Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives
prepares and publishes the United States Code pursuant to section
285b of title 2 of the Code. The Code is a consolidation and codification
by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United
States.
The Code does not include regulations issued by executive branch
agencies, decisions of the Federal courts, treaties, or laws enacted
by State or local governments. Regulations issued by executive branch
agencies are available in the
Code of Federal Regulations. Proposed and recently adopted regulations
may be found in the
Federal Register.
Certain titles of the Code have been enacted into positive
law, and pursuant to section 204 of title 1 of the Code, the text
of those titles is legal evidence of the law contained in those
titles. The other titles of the Code are prima facie evidence of
the laws contained in those titles. The following titles of the
Code have been enacted into positive law: 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11,
13, 14, 17, 18, 23, 28, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 44, 46,
and 49.
United States Code: About
The United States Code is the codification by subject matter
of the general and permanent laws of the United States based on
what is printed in the Statutes at Large. It is divided by broad
subjects into
50 titles
and published by the
Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Since 1926, the United States Code has been published every six
years. In between editions, annual cumulative supplements are published
in order to present the most current information. Documents are
available only as ASCII text files.
GPO Access contains the 2000 and 1994 editions of the
U.S. Code, plus annual supplements. At this time, the Statutes at
Large is not available on GPO Access.
When a section is affected by a law passed after a supplement's
revision date, the header for that section includes a note that
identifies the public law affecting it. In order to find the updated
information, you must search the public laws databases for the referenced
public law number.
The U.S. Code on GPO Access is the official version of
the Code, however, two unofficial editions are available. These
are the U.S.C.A.(U.S. Code Annotated) and the U.S.C.S. (U.S. Code
Service). The U.S.C.A. and U.S.C.S. contain everything that is printed
in the official U.S. Code but also include annotations to case law
relevant to the particular statute. While these unofficial versions
may be more current, they are not official and not available from
the U.S. Government Printing Office.
NOTE: Of the 50 titles, only 23 have been enacted into
positive (statutory) law. These titles are 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10,
11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 23, 28, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 44,
46, and 49. When a title of the Code was enacted into positive
law, the text of the title became legal evidence of the law.
Titles that have not been enacted into positive law are only
prima facie evidence of the law. In that case, the Statutes
at Large still govern.
The U.S. Code does not include regulations issued by executive
branch agencies, decisions of the Federal courts, treaties, or laws
enacted by State or local governments. Regulations issued by executive
branch agencies are available in the Code of Federal Regulations.
Proposed and recently adopted regulations may be found in the Federal
Register.
[
PDF VERSION of the above]
Black's Law Dictionary,
Sixth Edition, p. 1162
Positive law.
Law actually and specifically enacted or adopted by proper authority
for the government of an organized jural society. See also Legislation.
[Black's Law Dictionary,
Sixth Edition, p. 1162]
Black's Law Dictionary,
Sixth Edition, p. 526
Enact. To establish
law; to perform or effect; to decree. The common introductory
formula in making statutory laws is, "Be it enacted." See Enacting clause.
[Black's Law Dictionary,
Sixth Edition, p. 526]
Black's Law Dictionary,
Sixth Edition, p. 899
Legislation.
The act of giving or enacting laws; the power to make laws; the act
of legislating; preparation and enactment of laws; the making of laws
via legislation, in contrast to court-made laws. Formulation of
rule for the future. Laws enacted by lawmaking body (e.g. Congress
or state legislature). Oklahoma City, Okl. v. Dolese, C.C.A.Okl.,
48 F.2d 734, 738. See also Act (Legislative act); Bill; Class
legislation; Statute.
[Black's Law Dictionary,
Sixth Edition, p. 899]
Sec. 204. - Codes and
Supplements as evidence of the laws of United States and District of
Columbia; citation of Codes and Supplements
In all courts, tribunals,
and public offices of the United States, at home or abroad, of the District
of Columbia, and of each
State, Territory, or
insular possession of the United States -
(a) United States Code.
-
The matter set forth
in the edition of the Code of Laws of the United States current at any
time shall, together with the then current supplement, if any, establish
prima facie the laws of the United States, general and permanent in
their nature, in force on the day preceding the commencement of the
session following the last session the legislation of which is included:
Provided, however, That whenever titles of such Code shall have been
enacted into positive law the text thereof shall be legal evidence of
the laws therein contained, in all the courts of the United States,
the several States, and the Territories and insular possessions of the
United States.
(b) District of Columbia
Code. -
The matter set forth
in the edition of the Code of the District of Columbia current at any
time shall, together with the then current supplement, if any, establish
prima facie the laws, general and permanent in their nature, relating
to or in force in the District of Columbia on the day preceding the
commencement of the session following the last session the legislation
of which is included, except such laws as are of application in the
District of Columbia by reason of being laws of the United States general
and permanent in their nature.
(c) District of Columbia
Code; citation. -
The Code of the District
of Columbia may be cited as ''D.C. Code''.
(d) Supplements to
Codes; citation. -
Supplements to the
Code of Laws of the United States and to the Code of the District of
Columbia may be cited, respectively, as ''U.S.C., Sup. '', and ''D.C.
Code, Sup. '', the blank in each case being filled with Roman figures
denoting the number of the supplement.
What Is Positive Law Codification?
Positive law codification is the process of preparing and enacting,
one title at a time, a revision and restatement of the general and
permanent laws of the United States.
Because many of the general and permanent laws that are required
to be incorporated into the United States Code are inconsistent,
redundant, and obsolete, the Office of the Law Revision Counsel
of the House of Representatives has been engaged in a continuing
comprehensive project authorized by law to revise and codify, for
enactment into positive law, each title of the Code. When this project
is completed, all the titles of the Code will be legal evidence
of the general and permanent laws and recourse to the numerous volumes
of the United States Statutes at Large for this purpose will no
longer be necessary.
Positive law codification bills prepared by the Office do not
change the meaning or legal effect of a statute being revised and
restated. Rather, the purpose is to remove ambiguities, contradictions,
and other imperfections from the law.
Current Positive Law Codification Projects of the Office
Title 46, "Shipping"
(H.R. 1442)
Title 51, "National
and Commercial Space Programs" (H.R. 3039)
Technical Corrections to the U.S. Code (H.R. 866)
U.S. v. Ward, 131 F.3d 335 C.A.3 (N.J.) (1997)
"Thus,
there is a clear conflict between the codification and Statutes-at-Large
version of the Act. It is evident that even though the
codified version of the amendments contains no "subsection (a),"
the italicized part of the Statutes-at-Large version identifies
the "offense" referred to in subsection 14011(b)(1).
The codified version
of legislation is prima
facie evidence of the laws of the United States unless Congress
has enacted the particular title into
positive law.
1 U.S.C. § 204(a) (1995). "[T]he
very meaning of `prima facie' is that the Code cannot prevail over
the Statutes at Large
when the two are inconsistent."
Stephan v. United States
,
319 U.S. 423, 426 (1943).
Congress has not enacted Title 42
into positive law.
When there is such a conflict, the version in the Statutes
at Large, i.e., the one which appears at 108 Stat. 1796, 1946-50,
must control.
See ,
e.g. ,
American Bank & Trust Co.
v. Dallas County ,
463 U.S. 855, 864 n.8 (1983)
("the Statutes at Large prevail
over the Code whenever the two are inconsistent") (citations
omitted); United States
v. Walden ,
377 U.S. 95, 98-99 n.4 (1963)
(" `the Code cannot prevail over
the Statutes at Large when the two are inconsistent' ")
(quoting Stephan
,
319 U.S. at 426 );
see also United States Nat'l Bank of Oregon v. Independent Ins.
Agents of Am., Inc. ,
508 U.S. 439, 448 (1993).FN3 The error in the codified version
of the Act was not the fault of Congress, but of the codifiers.
Thus, the Act gave the district court authority to order the accused
to undergo a blood test if the showing prescribed in 42 U.S.C. §
14011(b) was made."
FN3. Accord
Time Warner Cable v. Doyle, 66 F.3d 867, 878 n. 11 (7th Cir.1995),
cert. denied,
516 U.S. 1141, 116 S.Ct. 974, 133 L.Ed.2d 894 (1996);
Time Warner Entertainment Co., LP v. FCC, 56 F.3d 151, 193
n. 12 (D.C.Cir.1995), cert. denied,
--- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 911, 133 L.Ed.2d 842 (1996);
Preston v. Heckler, 734 F.2d 1359, 1368 (9th Cir.1984).
[
For Petitioners benefit, the Court will clarify an apparent misunderstanding. Petitioners believe that the Court "ruled against them without considering the language of the Statutes at Large." Pet. Mot. at 1. However, the Court did consider the Statutes at Large. The Court considered the most recent positive law enactment of a United States' revenue law, specifically the Act of Congress entitled the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (including subsequent amendments). The Petitioners apparently misunderstand that there is a difference between the *3 individual positive law statute entitled the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and Title 26 of the United States Code. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is a statute enacted into positive law by congress, while the United States Code, including Title 26, is a statutory compilation by subject of enacted statutes. 1 U.S.C.A. § 204(a); 1 U.S.C.A. § 204 note (the note first lists United States Code Titles enacted as positive law, without including Title 26; however, the note follows up with a special comment on Title 26 stating that the Internal Revenue Code has been separately enacted into positive law by Congress, and indicating that the sections of Title 26 of the United States Code "are identical to the sections of the Internal Revenue Code"). Because the Internal Revenue Code and Title 26 of the United States Code are identical, even though they are distinct, for all practical purposes, Title 26 is positive law.
The Statutes at Large are cited using the abbreviation "Stat." which is preceded by the volume number and followed by the page number. Petitioners are encourage to look in a compilation of the Statutes at Large for the following citations: Internal Revenue Code of 1954, Pub.L. No. 591- 736, 68A Stat. 1 (1954) (that is volume 68A of the Statutes at Large starting on page 1); and the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Pub.L. No. 99-514, 100 Stat. 2085, 2095 (1986) (Page 2095 of Statutes at Large volume 100 shows that the Internal
Revenue Code of 1954 has been reenacted into positive law as the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).
2 For each title enacted into positive law, the U.S.C.A. note includes a separate Statutes at Large (Stat.) citation for the session law showing the enactment of the title.
At the end of each year, after the enactment of a statute into positive law, the text of the statute is published, in chronological order, in the Statutes at Large (Stat.), the official bound version of the laws passed during a session of Congress. William A. Hilyerd, Using the Law Library: A Guide for Educators Part III: Oh, Statute (or Regulation), Where Art Thou?, 34 J.L. Educ. 101, 105 (2005); Timothy E. Maguire, Researching and Writing About the Law, MPM MA-CLE § 2.1,§ 2.3.1(d) (Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. 1997); 1 U.S.C. § 112. Eventually, federal laws are also published by subject matter in statutory compilations; the official statutory compilation for Congress is the United States Code (U.S.C.). Id. However, the *4 compilation of enacted statutes, is not always itself enacted into positive law. Wash.-Dulles Transp., Ltd. v. Metro. Wash. Airports Auth., 263 F.3d 371, 378 (4th Cir. 2001).
Statutes published in chronological order according to sessions of Congress or state legislatures are called "session laws," because they are enactments made by the legislature while in session. The publication of the session laws of the United States Congress is the Statutes at Large.
If the compilers of the United States Code, bringing underlying enactments of Congress together and organizing them by subject, misquote or make a mistake in the compilation, then the actual Act of Congress in the session laws (Statutes at Large) must prevail in a dispute. U.S. v. Welden, 377 U.S. 95, 98 n. 4 (1964) ("[i]f construction (of a section of the United States Code which has not been enacted into positive law) is necessary, recourse must be had to the original statutes themselves."); American Bank and Trust Co. v. Dallas County, 463 U.S. 855, 864 n. 8 (1983) ("the Statutes at Large prevail over the Code whenever the two are inconsistent."). When a title of the United States Code is enacted into positive law, it is no longer just an approved compilation of the law, but a full and distinct statutory enactment of Congress; therefore, it becomes legal evidence of the law. 1 U.S.C.§204(a).
[
[EDITORIAL: 100 Stat. 2095 shows the "enactment" of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. It never uses the phrase "positive law". The Court is LYING. "enactment" and "enactment into positive law" are NOT the same thing.]
Ryan v. Billby, 764 F.2d
1325, 1328
Says IRC is still "law", even though not enacted into positive
law.
[Ryan v. Billby, 764 F.2d 1325, 1328]
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