Law of Massachusetts

The law of Massachusetts consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local ordinances. The General Laws of Massachusetts form the general statutory law.

The Constitution of Massachusetts is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted by the General Court, published in the Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts, and codified in the General Laws of Massachusetts. State agency regulations (sometimes called administrative law) are published in the Massachusetts Register and codified in the Code of Massachusetts Regulations. The legal system is based on common law, which is interpreted by case law through the decisions of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the Appellate Divisions of the Massachusetts District Court and the Boston Municipal Court departments, which are published in the Massachusetts Reports, Massachusetts Appeals Court Reports, and Massachusetts Appellate Division Reports, respectively. Cities and towns may also promulgate bylaws and local ordinances.

The foremost source of state law is the Constitution of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Constitution in turn is subordinate to the Constitution of the United States, which is the supreme law of the land.

Pursuant to the state constitution, the Massachusetts General Court has enacted legislation. Its session laws are published in the official Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts. They are in turn codified as the General Laws of Massachusetts.

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