Editors should generally follow it, though
exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect
consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on
this guideline's talk page.
This page contains naming conventions for articles related to government offices, elections and legislation.
Guidelines for government departments, agencies, and offices
Use official names in article titles (
United States Department of the Treasury instead of Treasury Department), unless an agency is almost always known by an acronym or different title (
DARPA).
When writing articles on government bodies or offices with native titles not in
English, an English translation should be favored, except when
reliable sources in the English language commonly use the native title. For example,
National Assembly of Bulgaria (not Narodno sabranie) but
2003 loya jirga (not 2003 Grand Assembly) and
Bundestag (not Parliament of Germany).
For an article covering multiple elections to bodies or positions of the same type, use the format "[date] [country name or adjectival form] [type] elections". For example:
For articles relating to the part of an election held in a specific region or country, use the format "[date] [country name or adjectival form] [type] election in subdivision". For example:
For future elections of uncertain date, use the format "Next [country name or adjectival form] [type] election(s)", such as
Next Irish general election. When the year of the election is known, titles like this should redirect to an article title with a year (such as
2016 Irish general election), because "next" is a moving target.
Choose the terms "
by-election" or "special election" according on which term is appropriate to the relevant country:
Prefer titles that reflect the name commonly used in
reliable sources.
Generally, use the
short title instead of the
long title (for example,
European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 instead of An Act to amend the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1978 so as to alter the method used in Great Britain for electing Members of the European Parliament to make other amendments of enactments relating to the election of Members of the European Parliament and for connected purposes), unless the long title is much better known. However, a
redirect from long to short titles should be created, and the long title should be included in the article.
Observe official titles and common use: In the
United States, the form typically includes "of" with the year (
Judiciary Act of 1789), while legislation in
Britain tends to be referred to by the short name form and then the year without any comma or "of" between them (
Judiciary Act 1903). In Canada, short titles that include a year will have a comma before the year (eg Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017).[1] If the official name of the bill includes a year, it should not be omitted in the article title, as it is part of the actual name of the bill and not a disambiguation.
If several acts have the same common name, the title should:
Redirect to an article about the series of acts, if a set of acts are related (for example, Townshend Act redirects to
Townshend Acts). This also applies to when two acts are passed with the same name and year in two separate
parliaments, as in different enactments of the same piece of legislation; a single article should be created, with the singular redirecting to the plural: Act of Union 1707 redirects to
Acts of Union 1707
Editors should generally follow it, though
exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect
consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on
this guideline's talk page.
This page contains naming conventions for articles related to government offices, elections and legislation.
Guidelines for government departments, agencies, and offices
Use official names in article titles (
United States Department of the Treasury instead of Treasury Department), unless an agency is almost always known by an acronym or different title (
DARPA).
When writing articles on government bodies or offices with native titles not in
English, an English translation should be favored, except when
reliable sources in the English language commonly use the native title. For example,
National Assembly of Bulgaria (not Narodno sabranie) but
2003 loya jirga (not 2003 Grand Assembly) and
Bundestag (not Parliament of Germany).
For an article covering multiple elections to bodies or positions of the same type, use the format "[date] [country name or adjectival form] [type] elections". For example:
For articles relating to the part of an election held in a specific region or country, use the format "[date] [country name or adjectival form] [type] election in subdivision". For example:
For future elections of uncertain date, use the format "Next [country name or adjectival form] [type] election(s)", such as
Next Irish general election. When the year of the election is known, titles like this should redirect to an article title with a year (such as
2016 Irish general election), because "next" is a moving target.
Choose the terms "
by-election" or "special election" according on which term is appropriate to the relevant country:
Prefer titles that reflect the name commonly used in
reliable sources.
Generally, use the
short title instead of the
long title (for example,
European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 instead of An Act to amend the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1978 so as to alter the method used in Great Britain for electing Members of the European Parliament to make other amendments of enactments relating to the election of Members of the European Parliament and for connected purposes), unless the long title is much better known. However, a
redirect from long to short titles should be created, and the long title should be included in the article.
Observe official titles and common use: In the
United States, the form typically includes "of" with the year (
Judiciary Act of 1789), while legislation in
Britain tends to be referred to by the short name form and then the year without any comma or "of" between them (
Judiciary Act 1903). In Canada, short titles that include a year will have a comma before the year (eg Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017).[1] If the official name of the bill includes a year, it should not be omitted in the article title, as it is part of the actual name of the bill and not a disambiguation.
If several acts have the same common name, the title should:
Redirect to an article about the series of acts, if a set of acts are related (for example, Townshend Act redirects to
Townshend Acts). This also applies to when two acts are passed with the same name and year in two separate
parliaments, as in different enactments of the same piece of legislation; a single article should be created, with the singular redirecting to the plural: Act of Union 1707 redirects to
Acts of Union 1707