AC 1.1

Question 1

Government processes: Parliament

Answer 1

-consists of three things
1. House of Commons – MPs, voted in via election
2. House of Lords – some hereditary peers and some lifetime appointed
3. the Monarch – approves the final bill

Question 2

How are laws made by the Government?

Answer 2

1. Green Paper –> public consultation
2. White Paper –> formal proposal for reform
3. Bill –> draft act which is presented to Parliament

Question 3

1. First Reading

Answer 3

-the name of the Bill and its main aims are read out and a formal vote is taken

Question 4

2. Second Reading

Answer 4

-the main debate takes place followed by another vote

Question 5

3. Committee Stage

Answer 5

-a chosen group of representatives look closely at the Bill to address any issues and suggest appropriate amendments

Question 6

4. Report Stage

Answer 6

-the committee report back to the Full House who then vote on the proposed amendments

Question 7

5. Third Reading

Answer 7

-the final vote to either pass or reject the Bill

Question 8

6. Repeat in other Houses

Answer 8

-all of the above stages are repeated in the other house

Question 9

7. Royal Assent

Answer 9

-The Monarch signs the Bill
-he cannot refuse as it is now only a symbolic stage as the Head of State

Question 10

8. Act of Parliament

Answer 10

-the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament and the commencement date is given

Question 11

Judicial processes

Answer 11

-laws made by judges in the courts
-judges make a judgement and this forms the law, as it must be followed in future cases
-must be applied consistently
-common law = common to all cases, refers to laws made by judges
-lower courts must abide by decisions made by higher courts
-where there is no judicial precedent, the judge must make a decision and set on original precedent
-exceptions - distinguishing and overruling

Question 12

Statutory Interpretation

Answer 12

-sometimes, is a word/phrase is unclear judges in superior courts are called upon to decide its meaning
-have various rules and aids to help, can interpret in the way they see fit
-could be seen as laws being created by the judiciary

Question 13

three main interpretation rules

Answer 13

1. the Literal Rule
2. the Golden Rule
3. the Mischief Rule

Question 14

1. the Literal Rule

Answer 14

-means that judges should use the everyday, ordinary meaning of words
-can be multiple meanings of the same word even within a dictionary

Question 15

2. the Golden Rule

Answer 15

-allows judges to modify the literal meaning to avoid an absurd result

Question 16

3. the Mischief Rule

Answer 16

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