What is a regulation?

We explain what a regulation is, what it is for, its parts and other characteristics. In addition, what types exist and some examples.

1. What is a regulation?

A regulation is any document issued by any political, social or administrative authority, in which a series of legal , social , political or other norms are made explicit to the target audience as appropriate.

This set of rules or norms serves so that the members of a community govern themselves , guaranteeing social peace , productivity or the minimum agreements within it.

Some regulations have a range of national action, others community, such as a club, a park or a board game, applying only to these areas and by consensus of those involved. For example, to play an official football game there is a regulation ,  but if we play with our friends on the neighborhood court, we can follow our own rules.

In any case, a regulation is a set of rules expressed and explained in writing, so that anyone can access them and do not depend on someone who memorizes them (running the risk of altering them at their convenience).

2. What is a regulation for?

Every regulation is a guarantor of order. They offer a group of individuals a set of rules by which to be governed in a certain area. Thus, they minimize the opportunity for frictions, quarrels, irregularities or disorder to arise . They prevent the strongest from imposing their will on the weakest, or that everyone does things differently.

Regulations reinforce social consensus , that is, they are part of the set of regulations with which we build our societies . In some cases they are very necessary, while in others they can practically be ignored.

3. Characteristics

Every regulation has a certain validity, that is, a period or scope of validity , which may or may not be explained in its interior, or determined by the authorities that issued it in the first place, thus being able to be repealed after the appearance of a new regulation Take your place.

For example, if a board game company decides to change the rules of one of its products, it will include a new regulation that will make the other obsolete and invalid.

In addition, to operate a regulation must comply with the following:

• Be specific . Get to the point at your points and don’t get lost in non-relevant information .
• Be ordained . The parts of a regulation must be read according to a logical order, which allows its users to directly search for the specific information they want, while having an overview of the rules.
• Be impartial . Since we talk about norms or laws, it is clear that they must be objective and precise, without favoring a priori anyone.
• Be clear . It must be perfectly written, legible and understandable without the need for clarifications, translators, secret codes or other documents.
• Be of common acceptance . All individuals to whom the regulation is concerned must know it equally, since it is not possible to abide by rules that are ignored.
• Be explicit . The rules of a regulation must be written in a clear and frontal way, not tacit or insinuated.

4. Types of regulation

There may be millions of forms of regulations, adapted to every occasion or need. But in a very general way, we could distinguish between two types of regulations:

• General regulations . They propose a broad framework of norms and behaviors to follow, without emphasizing details or particularities. For example, the general regulation of public order of a city , or the regulation of an Olympic sport .
• Internal regulations . Those that are owned by a company , organization or club of any kind and therefore only apply to those who make life in that organization. For example, an internal regulation of debates of the National Parliament.

5. Parts of a regulation

Regulations usually contain all or some of the following items:

• Header . It shows the title, subtitle or explanations that anticipate the reader what is the purpose of the regulation or its scope.
• Preamble . Here is an explanation of the topic that the regulation will address, or of its need, or anything that the reader needs to know in advance.
• Chapters or segments . The parts that make up the body of the regulation, generally ordered from the simplest to the most complicated, or from the most general to the most particular. For example, you can start with some definitions to make sure that everyone understands what the terms that will come next refer to.
• Articles or sections . Smaller parts within each chapter or segment, referring to very specific and specific things.
• Sanctions . The possible punishments for those who fail to comply with the rules or, failing that, the site to which they must go to report their breach.
• Signature . A stamp, rubric or sign that confirms the authority that issues the regulation and where the rules come from.

6. Examples of regulations

Here are some examples of regulations taken from real life:

• Regulations for the Provision of Teaching Services of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso.
• Regulations of Official Championships 2018 of the Coastal Field Hockey Association.
• Regulation 2/2005 of Honors, Treatments and Protocol in the Judicial Acts of the Judicial Power of Spain.
• Regulations for the Use of Classrooms of the College of Notaries of the Province of Cordoba.