We may sharpen our understanding of legislation by juxtaposing it with other types of legal act. John Gardner attempts to differentiate legislation from legal rulings – an unusual juxtaposition in itself – and his claims about the difference are surprising. Legal rulings are legally binding pronouncements issued by judges – eg ‘A owes B $50 in compensation’. The article queries the analysis advanced by Gardner and endorsed by other accounts. It instead offers an alternative distinction, and in so doing seeks to clarify what legislation is by what it is not.

中文翻译：

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立法是什么（不是）：比较立法和法律裁决

我们可以通过将立法与其他类型的法律行为并列来加深我们对立法的理解。约翰加德纳试图将立法与法律裁决区分开来——这本身就是一种不寻常的并置——他对这种差异的主张令人惊讶。法律裁决是由法官发布的具有法律约束力的声明——例如“A 欠 B 50 美元的赔偿金”。文章质疑加德纳提出并得到其他账户认可的分析。相反，它提供了另一种区别，这样做是为了澄清什么是立法，什么不是。