6 - Law making : Parliamentary law making Flashcards
the monarch
constituitional monarchy
she is bound to act on the advice of parliament
walter bagehot
identified 3 political rights which the constitutional monarch may freely excersise -
* to be consulted
* encoruage,and
* warn
house of commons
uk dividded into 650 constituencies. Mp represents each
able to override house of lords
house of lords
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
infromal law making
green and white papers
who may put forward green or white papers
governemnt departments, known as ministryies or departments
green paper
consultation document by the government putting forward proposals for reform and inviting suggestions
white paper
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
public bill
Most Bills are Public Bills and affect either the whole country or large sections of it
for example, legal aid
private members bill
individual Mps put forward a bill
they can be inrtoduced through :
* ballot
* ten minute rule
ten-minute rule
where a backbencher, putting fforward a Private members bill, is able to make their case in a ten minute speech
private bills
designed to create a law taht will only affect individuals or corporations, not the whole community
hybrid bills
combination bteen public and private bills
Introduced by Government but if they become law they will only affect a particular person, organisation or place
Crossrail Act 2008
Underground rail links in London will affect the community living directly above it
formal law making -
bill drafted
first reading
second reading
comittee stage
report stage
third reading
same procedure in lords
royal assent
first reading
Name and main aims are read out – no discussion or vote
second reading
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
Committee Stage
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
Report Stage
Feedback to the House – amendments are debated and voted on
If there are no amendments then goes straight on to next stage
Third Reading
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
law making in the House of Lords
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
royal assent
last time it was refused was 1707
advantages of parliamentary law making
- 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
disadvantage of parliamentary law making
- 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
influences on parliament
pressure groups
media
political
EU
law commision
political inflluence
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
advanatges, disadvantages and examples of sucsess for poltical influences
+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
Eu law
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
advantages and advangtages of EU pressure
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.
Public Opinion / Media
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
advantages and disadvantages of media
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
pressure groups
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
types of pressure group
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
advantages and disadvantages of pressure groups
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
parliamentray supremacy
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
limitations of parliamentary supremancy
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
