a.c 1.1

Question 1

what are the two main sources of the law?

Answer 1

Government (parliament)
judiciary

Question 2

How is parliament made up?

Answer 2

monarch (king)
house of lords
house of commons

Question 3

What is a Green paper?

Answer 3

An initial report to provoke public discussion. it often included questions that need a response

Question 4

What is a white paper?

Answer 4

A document that sets out their detailed plans for legislation. often includes a draft bill that is put before parliament.

Question 5

what are the parliamentary stages of a bill?

Answer 5

1. first reading
2. second reading
3. the committee stage
4. the report stage
5. third reading
6. the lords
7. royal assent

Question 6

What is the First reading?

Answer 6

A formal announcement of the bill and it is followed by a vote for it to move onto the next stage

Question 7

What is the second reading?

Answer 7

the main principles are considered and debated by the house of commons and a vote is taken.

Question 8

What is the Committee stage?

Answer 8

The bill is examined in detail, line by line by a small committee made up of MP’s from different parties.

Question 9

What is the report stage?

Answer 9

it gives the MP’s an opportunity to consider the committee’s report and to debate/make any amendments. This can be spread over multiple days.

Question 10

What is the Third reading?

Answer 10

The report stage is usually followed immediately by a third reading. this is the final chance for the house of commons to debate the bill. no amendments can be made at this stage- they can decide to pass or reject the bill

Question 11

What is the Lords stage?

Answer 11

after the third reading, the bill moves over to the lords stage to follow the same stages as the house of commons. the lords can again amend the bill and it be passed back to the commons to accept/reject the amendments.

Question 12

What is royal assent?

Answer 12

once passed by both houses, the bill is presented to to the monarch for signing. This is the monarch’s agreement to make the bill into an Act. It is now more of a formality.

Question 13

What is a judicial precedent?

Answer 13

A source of law making in which the past decisions of judges create law for future judges to follow

Question 14

what are the two exceptions to a precedent?

Answer 14

Distinguishing- when the facts of a case are different enough from the earlier one to allow them to reach a different decision.
Overruling- when a court higher up the hierarchy states that a legal decision in an earlier case is wrong and overturns it.

Question 15

what are the three main interpretation rules?

Answer 15

literal, golden and mischief

Question 16

What is the literal rule?

Answer 16

The judges should use the everyday, ordinary meaning of words in a statute.

Question 17

What is the golden rule?

Answer 17

when the literal rule can lead to an absurd result, the golden rule allows the court to modify the literal meaning.

Question 18

What is the mischief rule?

Answer 18

allows the court to enforce what the statute intended to achieve rather than what the words actually say.
e.g (Licensing Act 1872)