← Legal Glossary
Rules Enabling Act
Definition
The federal statute that authorizes the Supreme Court to prescribe rules of procedure for federal courts, with the limitation that such rules shall not abridge, enlarge, or modify any substantive right. It is the test for whether a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure is valid.
Examples
- •The petitioner argued that applying federal pleading rules here is valid under the Rules Enabling Act because those rules regulate procedure, not substantive rights.