AC 1.1-describe processes used for law making Flashcards
What are the two main sources of the law?
The government and Parliament
What is Parliament? (one word answer)
Democracy
What is the role of Parliament?
To represent the people
What are laws made by Parliament called?
Statutes or legislation
Parliament is made up of three parts, what are they?
1) The monarch (Queen/King)
2) The House of Lords
3) The House of Commons
What is the role of the monarch?
The Queen/King giving the Royal Assent
What is the Royal Assent?
The agreement from a Queen/King to pass a new law
What is the role of the House of Lords?
To debate legislation and challenge the work of the government
How many peers are there in the House of Lords?
800
How many peers in the House of Lords are noblemen through hereditary means? (past and present)
Past: all peers were noblemen, position passed from father to eldest son
Present: 92 hereditary positions, rest are life peers unable to pass on their position (26 are also Church of England bishops and archbishops)
What is the role of the House of Commons?
To deliver the governments legislative programme
What is the House of Commons made up of?
650 elected representatives of the public (MP’s)
What is the role of the government?
To run the country
Who is the prime minister?
The leader of the majority party
What is a Bill?
A proposal for a new law
What must Bills go through before becoming Acts of Parliament (laws)?
Bills must be agreed by both Houses of Parliament and receive the Royal Assent
The government publishes a Green Paper before putting a Bill before Parliament. What is the Green Paper?
An initial report to provoke public discussion of the matter at hand eg. questions for interested individuals/organisations to respond to
The government publishes the White Paper after the Green Paper. What is the White Paper?
Document containing detailed plans for legislation (includes draft of Bill intended to put before Parliament)
How many parliamentary stages of a Bill are there?
7
In what order are the stages of a Bill in?
The First reading
The Second reading
The Committee stage
The Report stage
The Third Reading
The Lords
The Royal Assent
What is the First Reading stage of a Bill?
The government introduces the Bill formally and receives the first hearing
It is followed by a vote allowing it to move onto the next stage
What is the Second Reading stage of a Bill?
The main principles are considered and debated by the House of Commons, a vote is then taken
The Bill moves on if the majority of MP’s support it
What is the Committee stage of a Bill?
The Bill is examined in detail by a small number of MP’s from different parties
The committee reports back to the whole House and proposes amendments
What is the Report stage of a Bill?
Committees report considered and debates made to vote on any amendments
Debates may take several days depending on the importance of the Bill
What is the Third Reading stage of a Bill?
The final chance for the House of Commons to debate the contents of the Bill
No amendments allowed
House either passes or rejects the Bill
What is the Lords stage of a Bill?
Same process as the House of Commons
If the Bill is amended, it returns to the Commons to decide whether the change is accepted
The House of Commons has the final say as its made up of peoples elected representatives
What is the Royal Assent stage of a Bill?
The monarch signs off the Bill and the new law will come into force immediately
What is a commencement order?
A Bill which is only applied at a later date
What is the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991)? (just an example to use in the exam)
Allowing a dog of any type to be dangerously out of control in a public place is prohibited (hence why certain breeds were banned eg. pit bull terrier)
What is the Crime (Sentences) Act (1997)? (just an example to use in the exam)
Mandatory minimum sentences for varying repeat offences eg. automatic life sentence for a second serious sexual/violent offence
What are the two ways a judge can make the law?
1) Judicial precedent
2) Statutory interpretation
What is judicial precedent?
A source of law making where past decisions of the judge create laws for future judges to follow
What principle is the judicial precedent based upon?
Based upon the principle of standing by or following what judges have decided in previous cases (stare decisis)
If we treat similar cases the same, what does that result in? (judicial precedent)
It creates certainty, consistency and fairness in the legal system
What is the court hierarchy? (judicial precedent)
A legal system where the Supreme court is at the top and the magistrates court is at the bottom
If a decision is taken in a case made by the higher court, what does that mean for all the lower courts? (judicial precedent)
An original/ binding precedent is created, meaning the lower courts have to follow the decision of the higher court when dealing with similar cases
What are the two instances where a court doesn’t have to follow precedent?
1) Distinguishing
2) Overruling
What is distinguishing as an exception to precedents?
A precedent from an earlier case is only binding if the principle and facts are the same/similar in both cases (meaning a different decision can be made if the facts are different enough)
What is overruling as an exception to precedents?
Where a higher up court states that a legal decision in an earlier case is wrong and overturns it
Give an example of overruling as an exception to precedents
The law on martial rape
What is an example of the law on martial rape? (judicial precedents)
RvsR, husband appealed that he can’t be guilty of rape due to a centuries old precedent that says a husband can’t be guilty of raping his wife as the marriage contract gave the wife’s ‘irrevocable consent’ to sex
Appeal overruled as irrevocable consent is unacceptable today as partners are equal
What is statutory interpretation?
A written law where judges interpret the meaning of a statute and apply them to the case they’re judging
What are the three main statutory interpretations judges have?
1) The literal rule
2) The golden rule
3) The mischief rule
What is the literal rule for statutory interpretations?
Judges use everyday ordinary meaning of the words in statute
What is a problem with the literal rule in statutory interpretations?
A word can have multiple literal meanings eg. RvsMaginnis (1987): a case involving illegal drugs where varying judges had differing meanings of the word ‘supply’
What is the golden rule for statutory interpretations?
Where the court is allowed to modify the literal meaning to avoid absurd results from the literal rule
Give an example of when the golden rule was used for statutory interpretations
Adler vs George (1920): Adler argued he didn’t break the law as he was not literally in the vicinity of a prohibited place, but was actually in it
Court applied golden rule to avoid absurd result and Adler was convicted
What is the mischief rule for statutory interpretations?
Allows the court to enforce what the statue was intended to achieve, rather than what the words actually say
Give an example of when the mischief rule was used for statutory interpretations
Licensing Act (1872): offence to be in charge of a ‘carriage’ whilst drunk on a highway
Corkery vs Carpenter (1951): Corkery found guilty even though he had been in charge of a bicycle not a carriage as the Acts purpose was to prevent anyone from using any form of transport drunk on a highway
