Legal Definitions - exrogare

Exrogare is a legal term that refers to the formal act of repealing, abolishing, or annulling a law, statute, or regulation. When a law is "exrogated," it is officially removed from effect and is no longer legally binding. This action is typically carried out by the legislative body or authority that originally enacted the law, or by a higher authority with the power to do so.

• Example 1: A state legislature, recognizing that a decades-old law requiring horse-drawn carriages to yield to all other traffic is no longer relevant, passes a new bill specifically stating that the old carriage law is hereby repealed.

  Explanation: The act of the state legislature passing the new bill to formally cancel the outdated carriage law is an instance of exrogating that particular statute, rendering it void and unenforceable.

• Example 2: A federal environmental agency, after extensive research and public comment, issues a new directive that explicitly revokes a previous regulation concerning the maximum permissible lead content in certain industrial waste streams, replacing it with a more stringent standard.

  Explanation: The agency's formal action of issuing a new directive to cancel the old regulation on lead content constitutes exrogating the prior rule, effectively removing it from the body of active environmental law.

• Example 3: Following a national referendum, a country's constitution is amended to include a new provision guaranteeing universal healthcare. This new constitutional amendment directly contradicts and therefore nullifies a specific clause in a pre-existing healthcare act that had allowed for the denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

  Explanation: While the entire healthcare act might not be fully repealed, the constitutional amendment effectively exrogates the specific clause within the older act that allowed for denial of coverage, making that particular part of the law legally invalid due to the higher authority of the constitution.