It contrasts with the long title which, while usually being more fully descriptive of the legislation's purpose and effects, is generally too unwieldy for most uses.
For that reason, modern long titles tend to be rather vague, ending with the formulation "and for connected purposes".
The long title was traditionally followed by the preamble, an optional part of an act setting out a number of preliminary statements of facts similar to recitals, each starting Whereas...
Unlike the long title, which precedes the preamble and enacting formula, and thus sits outside the main body of text, the short title for modern legislation is explicitly defined by a specific section, typically at the very end or very beginning of the main text.
The short title sits outside the main body of legislation, and the summary description of the law, which is made optional, is defined by a specific section if existing.
The vast majority of acts passed by the Parliament of Canada do not include the year of enactment as part of the short title.
Since the early 20th century, it has become popular in the United States to include the names of key legislators in the short titles of the most important acts.
This was at first done informally; that is, the names appeared in legal treatises and court opinions but were not part of the statute as enacted.
[5] The comma preceding the calendar year in printed copies of acts is omitted on the authority of a note by Sir Noel Hutton QC, First Parliamentary Counsel, as to which see "The Citation of Statutes" 82 LQR 24-24.
The validity of this note is questioned by Halsbury's Laws of England, Fourth Edition, Reissue, Volume 44(1), footnote 10 to paragraph 1268.
Glanville Williams said that it "seems sensible" to omit the comma preceding the calendar year in references to acts passed before 1963.
In Re Boaler, Buckley LJ said: The fact that for the purpose of identification only and not of enactment also authority is given to identify the statute by a particular name in which the word "action" occurs is, I think, immaterial.
Since the second half of the nineteenth century, short titles have become the usual method of referencing earlier statute law within legislation itself.
In the UK this replaced the earlier method of citing the long title together with the chapter number and the regnal year(s) of the parliamentary session in which it received royal assent.
In a few cases, particular acts have had more than one short title given to them, for example because subsequent amendments to their contents have rendered the earlier name inaccurate.
More narrowly focused legislation may have a secondary phrase in parentheses, such as the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) Regulations 2002 (a statutory instrument).
[16] It was passed by both houses of the Oireachtas in 2012 but not signed into law by the President until 2015, after an intervening referendum and court challenge.
[19] Australian long titles are more like American than British ones in that they are short and broad: for example, "A Bill for an Act to provide for the establishment of the Automotive Transformation Scheme, and for related purposes".
A typical long title in Illinois is, "AN ACT concerning safety", giving only a very broad characterization of the subject matter.
On the other hand, a recent New Hampshire law carried the long title, "AN ACT relative to establishing a municipal bond rescission process, authorizing governing bodies to call a special meeting to consider reduction or rescission of appropriations, and clarifying special procedures enabling towns to respond appropriately to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."