Weights and Measures Act

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A weights and measures act is a kind of legislative act found in many jurisdictions establishing technical standards for weights and measures.

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body or the process of making it. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to as "legislation", while it remains under consideration to distinguish it from other business. Legislation can have many purposes: to regulate, to authorize, to outlaw, to provide (funds), to sanction, to grant, to declare or to restrict. It may be contrasted with a non-legislative act which is adopted by an executive or administrative body under the authority of a legislative act or for implementing a legislative act.

Statute Formal written document that creates law

A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by legislative bodies; they are distinguished from case law or precedent, which is decided by courts, and regulations issued by government agencies.

A technical standard is an established norm or requirement for a repeatable technical task. It is usually a formal document that establishes uniform engineering or technical criteria, methods, processes, and practices. In contrast, a custom, convention, company product, corporate standard, and so forth that becomes generally accepted and dominant is often called a de facto standard.

Notable acts of this type include:

Weights and Measures Acts (UK)

Weights and measures acts are acts of the British Parliament determining the regulation of weights and measures. It also refers to similar royal and parliamentary acts of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland and the medieval Welsh states. The earliest of these were originally untitled but were given descriptive glosses or titles based upon the monarch under whose reign they were promulgated. Several omnibus modern acts are entitled the Weights and Measures Act and are distinguished by the year of their enactment.

England Country in north-west Europe, part of the United Kingdom

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

Wales Country in northwest Europe, part of the United Kingdom

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline and is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate.

The Weights and Measures Acts may refer to:

Weights and measures acts may also refer to similar legislation in other countries.

In the United States, the National Conference on Weights and Measures functions as a regular meeting of the states and maintains several handbooks which are available at the website of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. [5] Most of the states have enacted these handbooks into law. [6]

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a physical sciences laboratory, and a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce. Its mission is to promote innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into laboratory programs that include nanoscale science and technology, engineering, information technology, neutron research, material measurement, and physical measurement.

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The inch is a unit of length in the (British) imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. It is equal to ​1⁄36 yard or ​1⁄12 of a foot. Derived from the Roman uncia ("twelfth"), the word inch is also sometimes used to translate similar units in other measurement systems, usually understood as deriving from the width of the human thumb.

Imperial units System of units formerly used in the British Empire and still used in the United Kingdom

The system of imperial units or the imperial system is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which was later refined and reduced. The Imperial units replaced the Winchester Standards, which were in effect from 1588 to 1825. The system came into official use across the British Empire. By the late 20th century, most nations of the former empire had officially adopted the metric system as their main system of measurement, although some imperial units are still used in the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries formerly part of the British Empire. The imperial system developed from what were first known as English units, as did the related system of United States customary units.

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Yard unit of length

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Bill (law) proposed law

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US Metric Association

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The National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to developing the United States technical standards for weights and measures in commerce. The organization's official mission is to advance a healthy business and consumer climate through the development and implementation of uniform and equitable weights and measures standards using a consensus building process.

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Imperial and US customary measurement systems English (pre 1824), Imperial (post 1824) and US Customary (post 1776) units of measure

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References

  1. ↑ Lyon, Andrew (1873), Law of India, pp.  762–765 , retrieved 22 January 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Weights and Measures Act, 1936". irishstatutebook.ie. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  3. ↑ THE SESSIONAL PAPERS PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS, OR PRESENTED BY ROYAL COMMAND, IN THE SESSION 1897. 1897. p. 239. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Weights and Measures Act 1987". Parliamentary Counsel Office, New Zealand Government. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "Weights and Measures". National Institute of Standards and Technology . Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Summary of State Laws and Regulations in Weights and Measures" (PDF). National Institute of Standards and Technology. 1 August 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
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