AC 1.1

Question 1

what are the 5 different stages in government law making processes?

Answer 1

1. consultation stage
2. government introduces bill into parliament
3. stages involving debates and votes
4. bill process through both houses of parliament with all stages repeated
5. bill given royal assent and a commencement order published.

Question 2

what are the 2 public consultations to discuss proposals during the consultation stage ?

Answer 2

green paper
white paper

Question 3

What is ‘green paper?’

Answer 3

members of the public/interested parties e.g. campaign groups will be invited to express views on proposals for new law

Question 4

What is ‘the white paper’ ?

Answer 4

following from green paper the government will publish a white paper containing a formal proposal for law (might include a draft bill)
Public and campaigners are invited to comment .

Question 5

What happens duirng stage 2 of government law making processes?

Answer 5

Government will introduce a bill (draft legislation) for debate in parliament. The bill may become Acts of Parliament (legislations/statutes)

Question 6

What are the 4 stages in stage 3 of government law making processes>?

Answer 6

1st reading
2nd reading
committee stage
report stage

Question 7

What is the first reading?

Answer 7

The name of the bill and the main aims are read out by a government minister. A vote is then taken to determine if it should pass to the next stage

Question 8

What is the 2nd reading?

Answer 8

The bill is read and debated in full by the house, and another vote is taken

Question 9

What is the committee stage?

Answer 9

The bill is scrutinized by a select committee of MPs/Lords, The bill can be amended at this stage

Question 10

what is the report stage?

Answer 10

The committee reports back to the House in which the bill was introduced. Amendments are voted on

Question 11

What happens during stage 4 of government law making processes?

Answer 11

3rd reading
The final vote in the house. Bill is then sent to the other house and is subject to exactly the same process

Question 12

What is the 2 parts of stage 5 of government law making processes?

Answer 12

Royal assent
commencement order

Question 13

What is royal assent?

Answer 13

Monarchs agreement to the new Act.

Question 14

what is a commencement order?

Answer 14

Is issued by the relevant government department that introduced the bill, and specifies the date at which the act will come into effect.

Question 15

What is the process of judicial law making called.

Answer 15

doctrine of judicial precedent

Question 16

what does doctrine of judicial precedent mean?

Answer 16

past decisions from higher courts e.g. on appeal create law for future courts to follow in cases where the material facts are the same. This is also called stare decisis - ‘standing by the decision.

Question 17

What is common law?

Answer 17

the body of law created by judicial precedent - the set of legal rules that is made up of past judicial decisions.

Question 18

What is the established hierarchy of courts in england and wales?

Answer 18

Court of appeal (criminal division)
-
Crown court
-
Magistrates court (appeal on a point of law by of case stated to the high court)

Question 19

What are law reports?

Answer 19

Reports of judicial decisions. Valid law reports are accurate records of the facts of cases and legal decisions - an authoritative statement of the common law

Question 20

Why are law reports useful for legal professionals and judiciary?

Answer 20

Law reports inform legal professions and judiciary of recent judgements on law
Example - Weekly law reports produced by the incorporated council of law reporting.

Question 21

What are 3 examples of criminal statues?

Answer 21

Criminal justice act (2003)
Crime (Sentences) Act (1997)
Dangerous dogs act (1991)

Question 22

what does the operation of precedent need?

Answer 22

An established hierarchy of courts
and
valid law reports

Question 23

Example of law report

Answer 23

Weekly law reports produced by the incorporated council of law reporting

Question 24

Judicial precedents has been influential in common law. In particular, the ——– ——— ——- ——-creates consistency

Answer 24

doctrine of binding precedent

Question 25

Example of precedent and development of common law - Shaw v DDP

Answer 25

Shaw v. DPP [1962] AC 220 was followed in Knuller v. DPP [1973]: The HL decision in Shaw v DPP - that the offence of conspiracy to corrupt public morals existed - was followed in Knuller v DPP.

Question 26

Senior courts sometimes overrule a precedent to keep pace with changing ———attitudes / ————-developments.

Answer 26

social
technological

Question 27

What is ‘rules of statutory interpretation’ ?

Answer 27

Judges must interpret the words in Acts of Parliament (the government’s process for making law).

In this way, they can make new law about the meaning of certain words/phrases by overruling existing precedent or creating new law.

So, through the doctrine of binding precedent, judges have developed rules of statutory interpretation

Question 28

What is the first point/stage of judicial law-making ?

Answer 28

This process of judicial law-making is called the DOCTRINE OF JUDICIAL PRECEDENT - past decisions create law for future courts to follow in cases where the material facts are similar or the same.

Question 29

What is the 2nd point/stage of judicial law-making ?

Answer 29

Also called STARE DECISIS – ‘standing by the decision

Question 30

What is the 3rd point/stage of judicial law-making ?

Answer 30

The body of law created by judicial precedent – the set of legal rules that is made up of past judicial decisions – is the COMMON LAW.

Question 31

What is the 4th point/stage of judicial law-making ?

Answer 31

An established hierarchy of courts means that lower courts are bound to follow precedents of higher courts. Accurate law reports, e.g. Weekly Law Reports, means that courts can easily find previous decisions to follow. For instance, Shaw v. DPP [1962] was followed in Knuller v. DPP [1973.

Question 32

What is the 5th point/stage of judicial law-making ?

Answer 32

Judges must also interpret the words in Acts of Parliament (the government’s process for making law). Therefore, judges make new law about the meaning of certain words/phrases by overruling existing precedent or creating new law. So, through the doctrine of binding precedent, judges have developed rules of statutory interpretation, e.g. literal rule

Question 33

What are the exceptions to precedent?

Answer 33

Distinguishing -The judge finds that the facts in the present case are different enough from the earlier one to allow him to reach a different decision and not follow precedent of earlier case.
Overruling - a court higher up states that a legal decision in an earlier case is wrong and overturns it.

Question 34

What are the 3 main interpretation rules?

Answer 34

Literal rule
golden rule
mischief rule

Question 35

what is the literal rule?

Answer 35

Judges should use everyday meaning of the words in statute.

Question 36

what is an example when the literal rule complicated a case?

Answer 36

R v Maginnis ( 1987) - case involving illegal drugs, judges found different meanings of the word supply.

Question 37

what is the golden rule?

Answer 37

allows the court to modify the literal meaning of a word to avoid an absurd result from the literal rule.

Question 38

what is an example of the golden rule?

Answer 38

Adler v George (1964) - Adler argued he had not broken the law as he was not literally in the vicinity of a prohibited place, but was actually in it. The court applied the golden rule and Adler was convicted.

Question 39

what is the mischief rule?

Answer 39

allows the court to enforce what the statute was intended to achieve. rather than what the words actually say.

Question 40

what is an example of the mischief rule?

Answer 40

Corkery v Carpenter (1951) Corkey was found guilty although he was in charge of a bike not a carriage (Offence to be drunk in charge of a carriage on a highway). The court used the mischief rule to convict him. (Argued that the act was to prevent people from using any form of transport on the highway drunk)