6 - Law making : Parliamentary law making

Question 1

the monarch

Answer 1

constituitional monarchy
she is bound to act on the advice of parliament

Question 2

walter bagehot

Answer 2

identified 3 political rights which the constitutional monarch may freely excersise -
* to be consulted
* encoruage,and
* warn

Question 3

house of commons

Answer 3

uk dividded into 650 constituencies. Mp represents each
able to override house of lords

Question 4

house of lords

Answer 4

non-elected body
* 90 hereditary peers
* 640 life peers
* 26 Church of England Bishops

12 Most senior Judges – removed themselves from H of L and created Supreme Court

Question 5

infromal law making

Answer 5

green and white papers

Question 6

who may put forward green or white papers

Answer 6

governemnt departments, known as ministryies or departments

Question 7

green paper

Answer 7

consultation document by the government putting forward proposals for reform and inviting suggestions

Question 8

white paper

Answer 8

Document with firm proposals for how it will draft the law – this is for information not consultation
published by the government about ho they plan to refrom

Question 9

public bill

Answer 9

Most Bills are Public Bills and affect either the whole country or large sections of it
for example, legal aid

Question 10

private members bill

Answer 10

individual Mps put forward a bill
they can be inrtoduced through :
* ballot
* ten minute rule

Question 11

ten-minute rule

Answer 11

where a backbencher, putting fforward a Private members bill, is able to make their case in a ten minute speech

Question 12

private bills

Answer 12

designed to create a law taht will only affect individuals or corporations, not the whole community

Question 13

hybrid bills

Answer 13

combination bteen public and private bills
Introduced by Government but if they become law they will only affect a particular person, organisation or place

Question 14

Crossrail Act 2008

Answer 14

Underground rail links in London will affect the community living directly above it

Question 15

formal law making -

Answer 15

bill drafted
first reading
second reading
comittee stage
report stage
third reading
same procedure in lords
royal assent

Question 16

first reading

Answer 16

Name and main aims are read out – no discussion or vote

Question 17

second reading

Answer 17

Main debate
MP’s who wish to speak have to catch the Speakers Eye
At the end a verbal vote is taken
If close formal vote and MP go through a yes/no door

Question 18

Committee Stage

Answer 18

Committee Stage
16-50 MP examine the Bill. They sit on the Standing Committee and have a special interest in the subject
For finance Bills the whole House sits on the Committee
​

Question 19

Report Stage

Answer 19

Feedback to the House – amendments are debated and voted on
If there are no amendments then goes straight on to next stage

Question 20

Third Reading

Answer 20

Final vote although if it gets to this stage usually a formality. Will only be further debate if more than 6 MP’s request it

Question 21

law making in the House of Lords

Answer 21

The Bill goes through the whole process again in the opposite House. If they wish to make amendments then it starts all over again in the first House in a process know as Parliamentary Ping-Pong

Question 22

royal assent

Answer 22

last time it was refused was 1707

Question 23

advantages of parliamentary law making

Answer 23

• Decided by elected representatives so democratic
• Public can vote out any Government every 5 years so each Gov is accountable to the public
• Can reform whole areas of law in one Act – Fraud Act 2006
• Lengthy process means lots of scrutiny

Question 24

disadvantage of parliamentary law making

Answer 24

• Doesn’t have time to deal with all necessary reforms
• Bill’s usually take several months to become an Act
• Little time for Private Members Bill’s
• Acts are often long and complex

Question 25

influences on parliament

Answer 25

pressure groups
media
political
EU
law commision

Question 26

political inflluence

Answer 26

Parties publish their manifesto’s before elections to make their ideas for new laws and reforms clear
The Government (Con/lib coalition) will spend the 5 years putting their manifesto’s into action
The Queen’s speech (once a year) details which Acts they intend to pass during the year

Question 27

advanatges, disadvantages and examples of sucsess for poltical influences

Answer 27

+Each party has its own agenda ready before being elected so in theory everything is planned and ready to go
+The Government ahs the majority so will get most laws passed making the process efficient.

-A new government means that they may spend their time repealing or altering laws the previous government passed
-This can be costly and time consuming – not necessarily moving anything forward

the hunting act 2004

Question 28

Eu law

Answer 28

British Law has to bring into effect any new EU Laws
This is done through passing a specific new Act – Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and 1986
Most EU laws are enacted through delegated legislation

Question 29

advantages and advangtages of EU pressure

Answer 29

Advantages
Uniformity through member countries

Disadvantages
Some laws can be unpopular eg. Britain used imperial measures eg. Pounds, stone etc but under EU law we had to change to grams and kg.

Question 30

Public Opinion / Media

Answer 30

Government will often bow to public pressure if it is just before a general election!
Media brings public opinion to the attention of the Government
Free press allows them to criticise the government - 2009 expenses scandal
Media may dramatize / manipulate public opinion
Specific events may help form the law

Question 31

advantages and disadvantages of media

Answer 31

Positive
Dunblane Massacre 1996 – Snowdrop Campaign led to the banning of most handguns
Negative
Government may respond too quickly to public opinion – Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 – very poorly drafted

Question 32

pressure groups

Answer 32

May pressure the Government to change the law –
Gay Rights – In 2000 reduced the age of homosexual consent to 16
May cause the Government to reconsider passing laws
Justice and Liberty successfully campaigned to stop the Government restricting the right to trial by jury
may lobby mps

Question 33

types of pressure group

Answer 33

Sectional
Represent the particular views of a section of society – government may consult with them when new laws/reforms are being made
* Teachers Union
Causal
Promote a particular cause
* Greenpeace

Question 34

advantages and disadvantages of pressure groups

Answer 34

Advantages
Raise important issues for the public
Raise important issues for the Government

Disadvantages
They may been seen as imposing their “minority” ideas
Two pressure groups may have conflicting ideas – eg Fox Hunting

Question 35

parliamentray supremacy

Answer 35

Dicey in 19th Century defined the doctrine
* Parliament can legislate on anything
It can even change its own powers – Parliaments Act 1911/ 1949
* No Parliament is bound by another past or future
Some laws however are so entrenched that they will never be changed – Statute of Westminster 1931
* Nobody has the right to override Parliament
Even if the Act is incorrect/misguided it cannot be overruled – Railways Board v Pickin 1974

Question 36

limitations of parliamentary supremancy

Answer 36

There are limitations but these have been self-imposed and technically we could remove these limitations in the future – although this would be unlikely
* EU
* Human Rights Act 1998
* Devolution