<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level . It is a form of administrative decentralization . Devolved territories have the power to make legislation relevant to the area . </P> <P> Devolution differs from federalism in that the devolved powers of the subnational authority may be temporary and are reversible, ultimately residing with the central government . Thus, the state remains de jure unitary . Legislation creating devolved parliaments or assemblies can be repealed or amended by central government in the same way as any statute . In federal systems, by contrast, sub-unit government is guaranteed in the constitution, so the powers of the sub-units cannot be withdrawn unilaterally by the central government (i.e. without the consent of the sub-units being granted through the process of constitutional amendment). The sub-units therefore have a lower degree of protection under devolution than under federalism . </P>

Devolution refers to the transfer of powers from a