EDICT
A decree or law of major import promulgated by a
king, queen, or other sovereign of a government.
An edict can be distinguished from a public
proclamation in that an edict puts a new statute
into effect whereas a public proclamation is no
more than a declaration of a law prior to its
actual enactment.
Under ROMAN LAW, an edict had different
meanings. It was usually a mandate published
under the authority of a ruler that commanded
the observance of various rules or injunctions.
Sometimes, however, an edict was a citation to
