AC 1.1

Question 1

What is the judicial precedent?

Answer 1

where a judge must follow the decision made in previous cases where the facts are the same as the present case

Question 2

What is the binding precedent?

Answer 2

decisions of the court of appeal and the supreme court that must be followed by courts of the same level or lower

Question 3

What are the Judge’s 3 main interpretation rules to help them when interpreting the wording written within law?

Answer 3

• The literal rule
• The golden rule
• The mischief rule

Question 4

What is the golden rule?

Answer 4

• where there are two interpretations which is the least absurd

Question 5

What is the mischief rule?

Answer 5

• what was Parliament trying to achieve with the law rather than what the words say

Question 6

What is the literal rule?

Answer 6

• what is the literal meaning of the words used

Question 7

What is the green paper stage of the law being made?

Answer 7

• public consultation on this new law

Question 8

What happens after he public consultation when a new law is being made?

Answer 8

• after the green paper consultation, a ‘white paper’ with formal proposals is produced. This allows a draft act called a ‘bill’ to be presented to parliament.

Question 9

What are the stages of a law being made?

Answer 9

• first reading
• second reading
• committee stage
• report stage
• third reading
• royal assent

Question 10

What are the advantages of precedent?

Answer 10

• certainty - lawyers have some indication as to how a case will be decided
• flexibility - application of the law can changed
• precision - using similar cases makes it accurate

Question 11

What are the disadvantages of precedent?

Answer 11

• large number of cases - difficult to find most appropriate precedent
• righty - system is too rigid and poor precedent may take several years to be amended

Question 12

What is the first stage of a bill becoming a law?

Answer 12

• first reading
• title of the bill is read out by gov to House of Commons
• no debate on the bill

Question 13

What is the second stage of a bill becoming a law?

Answer 13

• second reading
• debate on the main principles of the bill
• opposition respond and discuss it- the government will close the debate and a vote will be made
• if vote is lost by government, the bill cannot proceed further

Question 14

What is the third stage of a bill becoming a law?

Answer 14

• committee stage
• a group of representatives look closely at the bill to address any issues and amendments

Question 15

What is the fourth stage of a bill becoming a law?

Answer 15

• report stage
• the committee report back to the full house and vote on proposed amendments

Question 16

What is the fifth stage of a bill becoming a law?

Answer 16

• third reading
• the final discussion and vote on the bill

Question 17

What is the sixth stage of a bill becoming a law?

Answer 17

all above stages are now repeated in the other house

Question 18

What is the seventh stage of a bill becoming a law?

Answer 18

• both houses must agree on the text of a bill
• new amendments must be considered
• this stage is often called ‘ping pong’

Question 19

What is the eighth stage of a bill becoming a law?

Answer 19

• royal assent
• the monarch signs the bill
• they cannot refuse at this point as it now only symbolic that it is signed

Question 20

What is the ninth and final stage of an bill becoming a law?

Answer 20

• the bill then become an act of parliament and a commencement date is given

Question 21

Given an example of judicial precedent?

Answer 21

Donoghue vs Stevenson
- a woman drank a drink with an animal in the bottle

Question 22

What is statutory interpretation?

Answer 22

the main role of the senior courts is to interpret the law. This is necessary when a new piece of legislation is introduced and the words and meaning of the Act needs to be considered. The judges use various rules and statutory aids to assist them. Later courts will then allow these interpretations via judicial precedent, ie the interpretation becomes law