By-laws are the products of the legislative (law-making) authority of a municipality and may be described as local command-and-control regulatory instruments.
Bylaws are a type of law, and specifically a type of legislation, made by a municipal council, rather than the other two spheres of government (ie. provincial and national government). relate to issues in the local community; and apply only in the area of jurisdiction of the municipality concerned.
Byelaws are local laws made by a local council under an enabling power contained in a public general act or a local act requiring something to be done – or not done – in a specified area. They are accompanied by some sanction or penalty for their non-observance.
Local enactments refer to laws made by local authorities either through primary legislation by the legislature or through subsidiary legislation. The constitution empowers the legislature to make laws in section 4 and chapter 5 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The “by” in bylaw is an old Norse word that means “town.” A bylaw is simply a town, or local, law. Bylaws can't be created out of thin air. Canadian municipalities don't have constitutional status of their own, so they can only pass laws authorized by other levels of government.