AC1.1 Flashcards
What is the government process of law making?
all laws developed in the UK need to be passed by Parliament
How is Parliament split?
- house of commons
- house of lords
- monarchy/royal assent
what is the house of commons?
650 elected representatives of the people, who receive their position through general elections.
the Prime Minister leads the party that has the majority of the 650 elected representatives.
they must agree on a new proposed law, known as a Bill, and then receive royal assent.
what is the house of lords?
members, known as peers, conduct their own checks on new laws that are proposed by the House of Commons
The members can include people from religious groups, life peers and those who have inherited their position.
what is the 1st stage of a Bill becoming a Law?
An individual addresses their issue/concern with the local MP.
A first draft of the ‘Green Paper’ is published.
It is a summary of the law which invites consultation from the public.
what is the 2nd stage of a Bill becoming a law?
white paper - draft summary of the bill ready to go to the house of commons
what is the 3rd stage of a Bill becoming a law?
the first and second reading take place
this is where the bill is debated
what is the 4th stage of a Bill becoming a law?
the committee stage
this is where different political parties scrutinise the bill
the committees provide a report and decide if it will progress t the third reading, where it will either be accepted or rejected by the House of Commons
what is the 5th stage of a Bill becoming a law?
If accepted, the bill will be sent to the House of Lords
They will debate the bill and make any amendments they feel necessary.
they cannot reject the bill.
once amendments have been made, the bill is returned to the House of Commons
what is the 6th stage of a Bill becoming a law?
Royal Assent
Once the bill has been accepted by the House of Commons, the Monarch must sign it
Once signed, the bill becomes an ‘Act of Parliament’.
the law can take effect immediately or may have a set implementation date stated in the bill.
what is an example of a bill?
Criminal Justice Act 2003
Led to the abolishment of the Double Jeopardy Law
what is the judicial process of law making?
Law made by judges in the courts
When a case appears before them, they must make a judgement and this forms the law
It must be followed in future similar cases.
this is known as judicial precedent
Donoghue V Stevenson (1932) case.
2 friends visited a cafe and one drank a bottle of ginger beer that had the remains of a decomposing snail in it.
the woman fell ill and sued the manufacturer. she won her case.
the court decided a duty of care was owed by the manufacturer to the woman.
known as the ‘neighbour principle’, this case founded the modern day law of negligence
