How to Say "Enabling Act" in Spanish

ley habilitante

/lei abilitante/from spelling rulesfeminine

The English phrase "enabling act" is translated into Spanish as ley habilitante.

The term refers to a law authorizing a dependent entity to take certain actions.

Meaning: law authorizing a dependent entity to take certain actions (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of ley (law) and the adjective habilitante (enabling/authorizing).

The plural form of ley habilitante is leyes habilitantes.

In many Spanish-speaking legal systems, a ley habilitante can be used to grant emergency powers to an executive, often sparking intense political debate about the separation of powers.
The word ley shares a common ancestor with the English word 'legal', both originating from the Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to gather'.
The suffix '-ante' in habilitante functions similarly to the English suffix '-ing' in 'enabling', creating a present participle that acts as an adjective.

La ley habilitante permitió al presidente tomar medidas extraordinarias para enfrentar la crisis económica.
The enabling act allowed the president to take extraordinary measures to address the economic crisis.
En América Latina, algunas naciones han utilizado la ley de habilitación de poderes en situaciones excepcionales.
In Latin America, some nations have used the enabling act in exceptional situations.
El Congreso aprobó una ley autorizante que permitirá al gobierno tomar acciones urgentes frente a la emergencia climática.
The Congress passed an enabling act that will allow the government to take urgent actions against the climate emergency.
El Congreso aprobó la ley habilitante para el nuevo presupuesto.
Congress approved the enabling act for the new budget.
La ley habilitante permite la creación del consejo.
The enabling act allows the creation of the council.
Necesitamos una ley habilitante para el presupuesto.
We need an enabling act for the budget.
El gobierno redactó la ley habilitante ayer.
The government drafted the enabling act yesterday.

Two colleagues are discussing a new administrative regulation.

Javier

Lucía, ¿ya revisaste la ley habilitante?
Lucía, did you review the enabling act yet?
Lucía

Sí, Javier, la leí esta mañana.
Yes, Javier, I read it this morning.
Javier

Entonces ya podemos iniciar los trámites.
Then we can start the procedures now.
Lucía

Exacto, la ley habilitante lo permite.
Exactly, the enabling act allows it.

Sources

Wiktionary, “enabling act” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries habilitante, ley, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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