Chapter 1. Delaware Code
TITLE 1
General Provisions
CHAPTER 1. DELAWARE CODE
§ 101. Designation and citation of Code.
(a) The laws embraced in this title and the following titles, parts, chapters, subchapters and sections, as amended from time to time, shall constitute and be known as the "Delaware Code," hereinafter referred to as "the Code" or "this Code."
(b) The Code may be cited by the abbreviation "Del. C." preceded by the number of the title and followed by the number of the section, chapter or part in the title. Examples: Section 101 of Title 1 may be cited as 1 Del. C. § 101; chapter 3 of Title 2 may be cited as 2 Del. C. c. 3; Part V of Title 3 may be cited as 3 Del. C. Part V. When citing a section of the Code, the subchapter, chapter or part in which the section is found need not be included in the citation.
1 Del. C. 1953, § 101; 49 Del. Laws, c. 220, § 1.;
§ 102. Effective date of Code.
This Code shall become effective upon enactment.
1 Del. C. 1953, § 102; 60 Del. Laws, c. 56, § 2.;
§ 103. Repeal of prior laws.
All codes, and parts thereof, and all laws amendatory thereof and all other statutes, and parts thereof, of a general and permanent nature in effect on December 31, 1974, are repealed unless (1) expressly continued by specific provision of this Code, (2) omitted improperly or erroneously as a consequence of compilation, revision, or both, of laws enacted subsequent to the enactment of the Code which became effective on February 23, 1953, including, without limitation, any such omissions that may have occurred during the compilation, revision, or both, of the laws comprising this Code, or (3) omitted, changed or modified by the Revisors, or their predecessors, in a manner not authorized by § 211 of this title. In the event 1 of the above exceptions should be applicable, the law as it existed prior to May 13, 1975, shall continue to be valid, effective and controlling.
1 Del. C. 1953, § 103; 60 Del. Laws, c. 56, § 3.;
§ 104. Continuation of existing institutions, rights, and liabilities.
(a) The repeal of prior laws, provided in § 103 of this title, shall not affect any act done, or any cause of action accruing or accrued, or established, or any suit or proceeding had or commenced in any civil action, nor any plea, defense, bar, or matter subsisting before the time when such repeal shall take effect; but the proceedings in every such case shall conform with the provisions of this Code.
(b) All the provisions of laws repealed by § 103 of this title shall be deemed to have remained in force from the time when they began to take effect, so far as they may apply to any department, agency, office, or trust, or any transaction, or event, or any limitation, or any right, or obligation, or the construction of any contract already affected by such laws, notwithstanding the repeal of such provisions.
(c) No offense committed, and no penalty or forfeiture incurred, under any of the laws repealed by § 103 of this title, and before the time when such repeal shall take effect, shall be affected by such repeal.
(d) No action or prosecution, pending on the effective date of the repeal provided in § 103 of this title, for any offense committed or for the recovery of any penalty or forfeiture, incurred under any of the laws repealed by such section, shall be affected by such repeal; except that the proceedings in such action or prosecution shall conform with the provisions of this Code.
1 Del. C. 1953, § 104.;
§ 105. Effect on private or local acts.
No private act, or act of local application, or portion of any prior Code or other statute pertaining to the City of Wilmington, or special act of incorporation, in effect on the date of enactment of this Code, and not revised and brought into this Code, shall be affected by any provision hereof.
1 Del. C. 1953, § 105.;
§ 106. Effect on acts heretofore repealed.
No statute which heretofore has been repealed shall be revived by the repeal provided in § 103 of this title.
1 Del. C. 1953, § 106.;
§ 107. Effect of repeal of validating statutes.
The repeal by § 103 of this title of a statute validating previous acts, contracts or transactions shall not affect the validity of such acts, contracts or transactions, but the same shall remain as valid as if there had been no such repeal.
1 Del. C. 1953, § 107.;
§ 108. Distribution of Code and supplements.
(a) All copies of the Delaware Code printed or purchased by the State and distributed by law to state legislative, executive, judicial, or other state governmental entities shall be and remain the property of the State and shall be held in trust by the recipients thereof for the use and benefit of the citizens of this State. All copies of the Code and supplements thereto shall be delivered by the printer to the Government Support Services and shall be distributed by the Government Support Services as follows:
(1) To the Legislative Council of the General Assembly such sets of the Code and supplements thereto which are requested by the Director of Research for distribution to members of the General Assembly and its legislative staff. No legislator, during his or her term in office, shall receive more than 1 set of the Code and the supplements as they are printed;
(2) To the State Court Administrator, such sets of the Code and supplements thereto which are requested by the State Court Administrator for distribution to:
a. All judges, courts and court connected offices and personnel which the Chief Justice of the State shall approve;
b. All attorneys in the office of the Attorney General; and
c. All attorneys in the office of the Public Defender.
No attorney in the office of the Attorney General or Public Defender shall receive more than 1 set of the Code and the supplements as they are printed during the attorney's term as a member of the office of the Attorney General or office of Public Defender;
(3) To the Department of Education such sets of the Code and supplements thereto which are requested by the Secretary of Education for distribution as follows:
a. One set for each superintendent of each school district;
b. One set for each state-supported public high school;
c. Two sets for each county vocational-technical high school;
d. Two sets for each technical and community college;
e. Three sets for Delaware State University;
f. Five sets for the University of Delaware; and
g. Five sets for the Department of Education;
(4) One set of the Code and supplements thereto to each cabinet secretary, and 1 set and supplements thereto to each division within each cabinet department;
(5) Five sets of the Code and supplements thereto to the office of the Governor;
(6) One set of the Code and supplements thereto to the office of the Lieutenant Governor;
(7) Three sets of the Code and supplements thereto to the office of the State Auditor;
(8) Three sets of the Code and supplements thereto to the office of the State Treasurer;
(9) One set of the Code and supplements thereto to the office of the Banking Commissioner;
(10) One set of the Code and supplements or parts thereof as may be needed by the Commissioner of Elections, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, State Planning Office, Insurance Commissioner, Board of Parole, Delaware Agency to Reduce Crime, State Fire Marshal, United States Attorney, United States Representative, 2 United States Senators and to such other departments, sections, agencies and commissions which are either created by executive order from the Governor's Office or by an act of the General Assembly and can show a need to the Director of the Government Support Services for a set of the Delaware Code and supplements or parts thereof;
(11) In addition to any other sets of the Code or supplements pursuant to this section, 14 sets of the Code and supplements thereto to the Delaware State Police;
(12) One set of the Code and annual supplements thereto to each public library in the State upon their application for same to the Government Support Services.
(b) The Government Support Services shall be responsible for budgeting the necessary funds to provide the copies of the Delaware Code which said Section is required to distribute pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
1 Del. C. 1953, § 108; 50 Del. Laws, c. 230, § 1; 51 Del. Laws, c. 134, § 4; 53 Del. Laws, c. 72, §§ 3, 4; 56 Del. Laws, c. 84; 57 Del. Laws, c. 105, §§ 1-4; 58 Del. Laws, c. 560, § 1; 59 Del. Laws, c. 253, § 1; 60 Del. Laws, c. 220, § 1; 61 Del. Laws, c. 286, § 1; 62 Del. Laws, c. 117, § 1; 64 Del. Laws, c. 453, § 1; 69 Del. Laws, c. 67, § 2; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 72 Del. Laws, c. 190, § 1; 73 Del. Laws, c. 65, §§ 1-3; 73 Del. Laws, c. 143, § 1; 75 Del. Laws, c. 88, §§ 21(1), 22(1), 26(1).;
§ 109. Amendments to Code.
(a) All laws enacted after May 13, 1975, of a public and general nature, but not local, private or temporary laws, shall be enacted as amendments to the titles of this Code. If the subject matter of any such law is already generally embodied in one of the titles of this Code or can appropriately be classified therein, such new law shall be enacted as an amendment to such title of the Code. If it is not possible to classify the subject matter of a new law in an existing title, a new title shall be enacted containing such new law as a chapter or chapters, each chapter to contain a proper designation and descriptive name or heading, as provided in subsection (c) of this section.
(b) A new title shall be created only as a last resort and only when it would be unreasonable to include the new law in an existing title. If a new title is created, it shall be given a name and a number following that of the then last title number. New titles shall be given names which are broad and comprehensive in scope so that each will accommodate the greatest number of new laws having related subject matter.
(c) The skips and gaps in the numbering of the chapters and sections of this Code are for the purpose of accommodating future growth and expansion of the law thereby permitting the insertion in the Code of new laws in their most logical positions with respect to existing related laws. When a new chapter is enacted it shall be given a name, which shall be sufficiently broad and comprehensive to describe generally its subject matter, and a number designating its position within a title. Such chapter name is not to be confused with the title of a bill which is dealt with in § 16, article II of the Constitution of this State.
(d) When it is the purpose of an amendment to change the language of a section, as distinct from effecting an outright repeal of the section, the amendment shall not be made by repealing the section and enacting a new section in lieu thereof. In such case, the amendment shall be made by stating specifically the manner in which the section is to be amended: i.e., the amendment should state that a specified section is amended by striking out the words which it is desired to change (stating their location in the section) and substituting therefor the new words. If the changes are such as do not lend themselves easily to this type of amendment, the amending act may state that the section (specifying it by section and title number) is amended to read as thereinafter set forth. A section should be repealed, as distinct from amended, when an outright repeal thereof is intended or when the subject matter of the proposed new law is more than a mere amendment or revision of the old section.
(e) When sections of this Code are amended, the descriptive headings or catchlines immediately preceding, or within them, need not be amended, and when new sections are enacted, descriptive headings or catchlines need not be enacted to accompany them, in view of § 306 of this title, except that any desired changes in the section numbers contained in any such headings or catchlines shall be made by specific statutory amendments of such numbers, and new sections shall be assigned proper title section numbers by the law or laws that enact them.
(f) Title names, and part, chapter, and subchapter headings, except as they appear in the analyses referred to in § 306 of this title, constitute part of the law, and shall not be changed except by specific statutory amendment thereof.
(g) In the enactment of new laws, the plan, scheme, style, format and arrangement of this Code shall be followed as closely as possible to the end that the Code and all amendments thereto will comprise a harmonious entity containing all the laws of this State, then in effect, of a public and general nature.
(h) No law shall be invalid because it was not enacted in conformity with this section.
1 Del. C. 1953, § 109; 60 Del. Laws, c. 56, § 4.;
§ 110. Supplements as part of Code.
The laws appearing in this Code adopted after the effective date hereof or contained in any current pocket parts or supplements to this Code, printed and published hereafter under contract or otherwise as may be authorized by law, shall constitute, prima facie, a part of this Code if such laws, as so contained, purport to represent reproductions of statutory amendments of this Code, as stated in accompanying notes thereto. If any such pocket parts or supplements are printed and published on a cumulative basis, then only such laws contained in the latest publication thereof shall constitute, prima facie, a part of this Code.
1 Del. C. 1953, § 110.;