Enrolled bill

In the United States Congress and in many state legislatures, an enrolled bill is the final copy of a bill or joint resolution which has passed both Houses of Congress in identical form.

In the United States Congress, engrossed bills must be signed by the presiding officers of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, printed on parchment or paper of suitable quality and sent to the President for his approval.

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Enrolled bill rule

The enrolled bill rule is a principle of judicial interpretation of rules of procedure in legislative bodies. Under the doctrine, once a bill passes a legislative body and is signed into law, the courts assume that all rules of procedure in the enactment process were properly followed. That is, "[i]f a legislative document is authenticated in regular form by the appropriate officials, the court treats that document as properly adopted."

United Kingdom

The doctrine was adopted in The King v. Arundel. It was based on the proposition that when an Act was passed and assented to, it was affixed with the Great Seal, the "effective legal act of enactment". It was "a regal act, and no official might dispute the king's word."

The enrolled bill rule was restated by Lord Campbell in Edinburgh & Dalkeith Railway Co v Wauchope In that case it was complained that the passage of a private bill was defective because proper notice had not been given. The House of Lords rejected the notion that the validity of an Act could be questioned.