Pattern:Bylaw Pattern

Description

An English description of the definition (what distinguishes this sense of the term?).

“Municipal by-laws are public regulatory laws which apply in a certain area. The main difference between a by-law and a law passed by a national/federal or regional/state body is that a by-law is made by a non-sovereign body, which derives its authority from another governing body, and can only be made on a limited range of matters. A local council or municipal government derives its power to pass laws through a law of the national or regional government which specifies what things the town or city may regulate through by-laws. It is therefore a form of delegated legislation.” (Wikipedia, 2020) “A municipal by-law is no different than any other law of the land, and can be enforced with penalties, challenged in court and must comply with higher levels of law. Municipal bylaws are often enforceable through the public justice system, and offenders can be charged with a criminal offence for breach of a bylaw.” (Alberta, 2017) The intent of the Bylaw Pattern is to capture the major components of a city bylaw, such as dates, geographic areas of application, penalties, etc. It is not intended to provide a legal semantics with which to codify a particular bylaw. The following three types of bylaws are represented in the Bylaw Pattern (Alberta, 2017): 1. Main bylaws; 2. Amending bylaws, which reflect material changes, in principle or substance, to an existing bylaw; and 3. Revision bylaws, which reflect limited changes to an existing bylaw.

Key Concepts and Classes

The core concept of the Bylaw Pattern is Bylaw. Its properties decompose a Bylaw into conceptual relevant components that support linking with other city concepts, and enable efficient search. The following are a Bylaw’s properties: • schema:title: A short name for the Bylaw, to be used in other descriptions to refer to the Bylaw. • schema:legislationJurisdiction: identifies the city that enacted the Bylaw. The range is restricted to City. • schema:legislationIdentifier: a unique identifier for the bylaw. The range is a xsd:string. • schema:abstract: a brief statement of the bylaw’s purpose. The range is a xsd:string. • schema:keywords: keywords used to categorize the bylaw for search purposes. The range is zero of more xsd:string. • schema:jurisdiction: The City or CityDivision where the bylaw applies. The range is restricted to City or CityDivision. • schema:legislationType: Type of bylaw chosen from bylawMain, bylawAmending or bylawRevision. • schema:legislationLegalForce: Specifies whether the Bylaw is currently in force, not in force or partially in force. • hasDefinition: Words or phrases that are defined to have a specific meaning within the context of the Bylaw. The range is restricted to Definition. • impacts: who and/or what is impacted by the Bylaw. Restricted to Person, Organization, LandArea, City, CityDivision and/or Activities. • schema:legislationDate: Date which the Bylaw is officially adopted/signed by the legislationJurisdiction City or CityDivision. • schema:datePublished: Date the Bylaw is officially published. • dateInEffect: Date after which the Bylaw is in effect. • schema:expires: Date the Bylaw expires. • hasClause: Clauses that make up the body of the Bylaw. Restricted to Clause. • hasPenaltyClause: Clauses that specify penalties for not adhering to the Bylaw. • hasSeveranceClause: Clauses that specify that the bylaw remains valid if any portion of the bylaw is found to be invalid by a higher jurisdiction. • hasTransitionClause: Clauses that cover the period during which entities affected by the bylaw can do things to conform to the new conditions. • hasRepealClause: Clauses that specify all previous bylaws that deal with subjects that are addressed in the new bylaw must either be repealed or amended. • hasSchedule: Schedules that are attached to the Bylaw and are referenced by the Bylaw. A Schedule is part of the Bylaw. A MainBylaw is a subclass of Bylaw and has the following additional properties: • schema:legislationType: value bylawMain An AmendingBylaw is a subclass of Bylaw and has the following additional properties: • schema:legislationChanges: The Bylaw that is being amended. • schema:legislationType: value bylawAmending An RevisionBylaw is a subclass of Bylaw and has the following additional properties: • schema:legislationChanges: The Bylaw that is being amended. • schema:legislationType: value bylawRevision A Definition concept that specifies the defined terms used in the Bylaw. It has the following properties: • schema:name: the formal term being defined. It is an xsd:string. • schema:description: the definition of the schema:name. A Clause is a statement of a rule, provision, requirement, etc. that is part of the body of the Bylaw, or its schedules, penalties, etc. It has the following properties: • schema:identifier: Unique identifier/number for the clause. It is an xsd:string. • schema:name: title or name of the clause, if any. It is an xsd:string. • schema:description: the content of the clause. • hasType: one of (severance or penalty or transition or repeal or schedule or bylaw) • hasClause: links to any subclauses of this clause. • mereology:properPartOf: The part of the Bylaw or clause this clause is contained in. A Schedule is attached to the Bylaw and is part of the Bylaw. It has the following properties: • schema:identifier: Unique identifier/number for the schedule. It is an xsd:string. • schema:name: title or name of the schedule, if any. It is an xsd:string. • schema:description: an introductory description of the Schedule. It is an xsd:string. • hasClause: links to all clauses contained in the Schedule. • mereology:properPartOf: The Bylaw this Schedule is part of.

Has Class(es)

5087-2:Bylaw, MainBylaw, AmendingBylaw, RevisionBylaw, Definition, Clause, Schedule

Status

Pending Approval

Supplementary Figures

Figure	Caption