Directive vs. Regulation — What's the Difference?

(European Union law) A form of legislative act addressed to the member states. The directive binds the member state to reach certain objectives in their national legislation.

Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context.

An official or authoritative instruction

A rule or directive made and maintained by an authority

Involving the management or guidance of operations

The action or process of regulating or being regulated

An order or instruction, especially one issued by an authority.

The act of regulating or the state of being regulated.

Serving to direct, indicate, or guide.

A principle, rule, or law designed to control or govern conduct.

That which directs; serving to direct, indicate, or guide.

A governmental order having the force of law. Also called executive order.

(grammar) Relating to the directive case.

(Embryology) The capacity of an embryo to continue normal development following injury to or alteration of a structure.

An instruction or guideline that indicates how to perform an action or reach a goal.

(Sports) The standard playing period for a timed game, prior to overtime or a shootout.

(programming) A construct in source code that indicates how it should be processed but is not necessarily part of the program to be run.

(uncountable) The act of regulating or the condition of being regulated.

An authoritative decision from an official body, which may or may not have binding force.

(countable) A law or administrative rule, issued by an organization, used to guide or prescribe the conduct of members of that organization.

(grammar) The directive case.

A type of law made by the executive branch of government, usually by virtue of a statute made by the legislative branch giving the executive the authority to do so.

Having power to direct; tending to direct, guide, or govern; showing the way.

A numbered provision within such kind of law.

Able to be directed; manageable.

(European Union law) A form of legislative act which is self-effecting, and requires no further intervention by the Member States to become law.

A pronouncement encouraging or banning some activity;

(genetics) Mechanism controlling DNA transcription.

Showing the way by conducting or leading; imposing direction on;

(medicine) Physiological process which consists in maintaining homoeostasis.

In conformity with applicable rules and regulations.

The act of regulating, or the state of being regulated.

A rule or order prescribed for management or government; prescription; a regulating principle; a governing direction; precept; law; as, the regulations of a society or a school.

An authoritative rule

A principle or condition that customarily governs behavior;

The state of being controlled or governed

(embryology) the ability of an early embryo to continue normal development after its structure has been somehow damaged or altered

The act of bringing to uniformity; making regular

The act of controlling or directing according to rule;

Prescribed by or according to regulation;