1.1

Question 1

Parliament is made up of 3 parts list them.

Answer 1

• Monarch
• House of Lords
• House of commons

Question 2

The Lords

Answer 2

• Peers: members of the house of lords
• 800 peers - 92 hereditary peers
• Main job of the Lords is to double check on laws

Question 3

The commons

Answer 3

• Most important part of parliament made up of elected representatives 650 MPs
• Each MP is elected at a general election to represent a constituency

Question 4

Who must bills be approved by?

Answer 4

• Bills must be approved by both houses of parliament and receive royal assent before they can Act of parliament

Question 5

The green paper

Answer 5

• Before putting a bill before parliament the government usually publishes a green paper
• An initial to provoke public discussion of the subject
• It includes questions for interested individuals and organisations to respond to

Question 6

White paper

Answer 6

• After consultation the government publishes a white paper which is a document setting out their detailed for legislation
• It often includes a draft version of the bill they intend to put before parliament

Question 7

Parliament stages of a bill

Answer 7

1. First reading
2. Second reading
3. Committee stage
4. The report stage
5. Third reading
6. The Lords
7. Royal assent

Question 8

First reading

Answer 8

-The government first introduces the bill into the commons where it receives the first reading
- Formal announcement of the bill and it is followed by a vote to allow it to move to its next stage

Question 9

Second reading

Answer 9

• It’s main principles are considered and debated by the whole house of commons and a vote is taken
• The government has the support of a majority of MPs they will usually win this vote

Question 10

The committee stage

Answer 10

• The bill is examined by in detail by MPs from different parties
• Committee then report back to the whole house and will often propose amendments to the bill

Question 11

The report stage

Answer 11

• Gives MPs the opportunity to consider the committee’s report, debate and vote on any amendments that they may wish to make the bill
• For major bills the bill is spread over several days

Question 12

Third reading

Answer 12

• Report stage is normally followed immediately
• Final chance for the commons to debate the bills contents
• No amendments are allowed at this stage as house votes either pass the bill or reject it

Question 13

The lords

Answer 13

• Bill goes to House of Lords and goes through all the stages as House of Commons
• If lords amend bill it must return to commons so MPs can decide whether to accept or reject the Lords amendments
• House of Commons has final say as it is made up of people’s elected representatives

Question 14

Royal assent

Answer 14

• Once bill is passed through both Houses of Parliament it goes to monarch for signing

Question 15

The judge can makes laws through what two processes?

Answer 15

• Judicial precedent
• Statutory interpretation

Question 16

What is judicial precedent?

Answer 16

• Past decisions of judges create law for future judges to follow
• Treating cases similarly to past cases to maintain consistency and fairness in the legal system
• It has help to create a set of common laws to the whole country

Question 17

Court hierarchy

Answer 17

Supreme head at the top and magistrates at the bottom

Question 18

What are the exceptions to precedent?

Answer 18

• There are two main situations where a court doesn’t have to follow precedent; distinguishing an overruling
• Distinguishing: It means judges find facts in present case which are different enough from earlier cases which enable them to make a different decision and not follow precedent
• Overruling: A court higher up the hierarchy states that a legal decision in an earlier case is wrong and overturns it e.g., Supreme Court can overrule a lower court decision when it hears an appeal

Example: Law on marital rape; is an example of overuling precedent, husband was convicted of attempting to rape his wife but appeal on grounds that centuries ago it was legal however it was overruled as partners are seen as equal and it is unacceptable and marriage isn’t a contract

Question 19

The literal rule

Answer 19

• Judges use everyday, ordinary meaning of the words in a statute
• Issue with this is that a word can have different meanings

Question 20

The golden rule

Answer 20

• The literal rule can lead to an absurd result however the golden rule allows the court to modify the literal meaning to avoid this

Question 21

The mischief rule

Answer 21

• Allows court to enforce what the statute was intended to achieve rather than what the words actually say