AC1.1 Flashcards
Outline briefly, the process used by the government for making laws (3 marks)
The public’s response to a change in the law is collected through a Green Paper followed by firm proposals in a White Paper. A Bill is then presented to Parliament and it follows a series of stages such as the first and second readings in both the House of Commons and House of Lords. There is then a report and committee stage where a chosen group of representatives look closely at the bill and suggest appropriate amendments. The Bill may be amended before it is voted upon by Parliament and then given the Royal Assent by the Monarch. A case which showed how campaigns can result in a change in law by parliament passing acts that bring in new laws would be the campaign fronted by Ann Ming. Her campaign aimed to abolish the double jeopardy law for serious offences and resulted in the passing of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
What are the Judicial Processes
Judicial law making or judicial precedent is made by judges in courts, where it is essential that they apply the law consistently and use the same principles in similar cases. As there are several courts there is a hierarchy and lower courts must abide by the decisions of higher courts. There are several options for not following a past decision if deemed appropriate, such as distinguishing or overruling. However, this is only permitted by the very senior courts such as the Supreme Court. When there is no precedent the judge must make a decision and give an original precedent. The case of Donoghue v Stevenson(1932) demonstrates how judges create law with new precedent. A woman bought and drank a bottle of ginger beer but found a dead snail inside. She sued the manufacturer and the judge ruled that the manufacturer owed a duty of care. Created the modern law of negligence. Furthermore, the case of Daniels V White (1938) shows how previous precedent is relied upon. The judge followed Donoghue v Stevenson to rule in the favour of the claimant who bought and drank lemonade that was found to contain a corrosive metal inside, therefore the previous precedent was applied
Judicial processes Statutory interpretation
An alternative way a judge can make a law is through statutory interpretation which is where judges in the superior courts are sometimes called upon to interpret words and phrases within a statute and apply legislation. They have various rules and aids to help them do this and have the ability to interpret in the way they see fit.Statutory Interpretation was used in the case of Whiteley v Chappell (1868). In this case, the defendant used the vote of a dead man however a statute made it an offence ‘to impersonate any person entitled to vote’. The liberal rule was applied and the defendant was therefore acquitted.
What is the Separation of Powers
Dividing the major institutions in government (legislature, executive, and judiciary) in order to prevent any person from having too much power, and to prevent bias
