Legislation, n.
Etymology: [Cf. F. législation, L. legis latio. See Legislator.]
The act of legislating; preparation and enactment of laws; the laws enacted. Pythagoras joined legislation to his philosophy. Lyttelton.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for legislation; he lists it under law.
Where he writes about it:
A code is a system of laws; jurisprudence is the science of law, or a system of laws scientifically considered, classed, and interpreted; legislation, primarily the act of legislating, denotes also the body of statutes enacted by a legislative body. — from law
An economy (Gr. oikonomia, primarily the management of a house) is any comprehensive system of administration; as, domestic economy; but the word is extended to the administration or government of a state or people, signifying a body of laws and regulations, with the entire system, political or religious, especially the latter, of which they form a part; as, the code of Draco, Roman jurisprudence, British legislation, the Mosaic economy. — from law