ac1.1 Flashcards
describe processes used for law-making
GOVERNMENT PROCESSES
what 3 parts is Parliament made up of?
the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch
who are the House of Commons?
the elected representatives, or members of parliament, voted by the people in an election
who are the House of Lords?
hereditary peers and many lifetime appointed peers who don’t pass on their title after death, for example, Lord Sugar
what does the Monarch do?
provides approval to the finalised bill
where are the majority of law in England and Wales made?
in parliament by a process of consultation, debate and voting
what happens when a new law is made?
there is a public consultation in the form of a Green Paper
what happens after the public consultation in the form of a Green Paper?
a White Paper with formal proposals for reform is produced
what does a White Paper allow for?
a draft act called a Bill is to be presented to Parliament
where does the Bill begin its journey?
in one of the houses (Lords or Commons)
what are the 6 stages a Bill must go through before it becomes an Act of Parliament?
- first reading
- second reading
- committee stage
- report stage
- third reading
- royal assent
what happens during the first reading?
the name of the Bill and its main aims are read out and a formal vote is taken
what happens during the second reading?
the main debate takes place followed by another vote
what happens during the committee stage?
a chosen group of representatives look at the Bill to address any issues and suggest appropriate amendments
what happens during the report stage?
the Committee report back to the full House who then vote on the proposed amendments
what happens during the third reading?
the final vote on the Bill and all of the above stages are repeated in the other house
what happens during the royal assent?
the Monarch signs the Bill. he can’t refuse as it is now only a symbolic stage as the Head of State
Proposed new law is introduced in the form of a ____
bill
while the Bill is considered in Parliament it is subject to much ______
debate
a Bill is a proposal for new law or a change to ________ law
existing
one of the chambers in Parliament is called the House of ______
Commons
the other chamber is known as the _____ of Lords
House
once a Bill has been given the Royal Assent it is known as a piece of ___________
legislation
the last stage of making an Act of Parliament involves the Royal Assent given by the _______
Monarch
the process of involbing the members of both the House of Lords and House of Commons is very __________
democratic
Once a Bill has passed through all the stages it becomes an Act of __________
Parliament
JUDICIAL PROCESSES
what is judicial processes made up of?
- judicial precedent
- statutory interpretation
what does judicial mean?
belonging or related to a judge
what does precedent mean?
a decision in a legal case that must be followed in similar future cases
what is judicial precedent?
law made by judges in the courts
what must the courts do when a case appears before them?
they must made a judgement and this forms the law and must be followed in future similar cases
what happened in the case of Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)
- 2 friends visited a cafe and one had a drink that had the remains of a decomposing snail in it
- she fell ill and sued the manufacturer and won her case
- the court said a duty of care was owed by the manufacturer to the woman
- known as the ‘neighbour principle’, this founded the modern-day law of negligence
what happened in the case of Daniels v White (1938)?
- claimant bought a bottle of lemonade and felt burning in his throat when he drank it
- the lemonade was found to have corrosive metal in it
- the case of Donoghue v Stevenson was used when suing for compensation
- even though it was slightly different, it was similar enough for the process of precedent
how do judges need to apply the law in similar cases?
consistently and use the same principles
why is law called common law?
becuase it must be common in all cases
who must lower courts abide by the decisions from?
higher courts
why must lower courts abide by the decisions from higher courts?
because there is a hierarchy
when is it appropriate to not follow a past decision?
when it is permitted by the very senior courts such as the Supreme Court
what must the judge do when there is no precedent?
make a decision and give an originl precedent
what is statutory interpretation?
where judges in the superior courts such as the Supreme Court are called upon to interpret words and phrases within a statute
what do judges in superior courts have to help them with statutory interpretation?
rules, aids and the ability to interpret in the way they see fit
what happened in the case of Whiteley v Chappell (1868)?
- defendant was charged with an offence of impersonating a person entitled to vote
- they pretended to be person on the voter’s list who was dead
- the court found the defendant not guilty since a dead person isn’t entitled to vote
