ac1.1: describe processes used for law making

Question 1

government processes

Answer 1

the majority of laws made in england and wales are made in parliament in a process of consultation, debates and voting. for a new law to be created it must go through certain stages

Question 2

stage 1

Answer 2

green paper
sets out ideas for the new law, it’s just a proposal here

Question 3

stage 2

Answer 3

white paper
the formal proposal, its known as a bill and is presented in parliament

Question 4

stage 3

Answer 4

first reading
the name and aims of the bill are read out in parliament, a vote is taken to see what mp’s think

Question 5

stage 4

Answer 5

second reading
there is a debate on the features of the bill, another vote is taken

Question 6

stage 5

Answer 6

committee stage
a chosen group of representatives look closely at the bill. they’ll address any issues and suggest appropriate ammendments

Question 7

stage 6

Answer 7

report stage
the committee reports back to parliament, mp’s then vote on the amendments made

Question 8

stage 7

Answer 8

third reading
after the bill has been debated and amended the mp’s have one final vote

Question 9

stage 8

Answer 9

house of commons/lords
stages 3 to 7 are repeated in the other house

Question 10

stage 9

Answer 10

royal assent
the monarch signs the bill, this however is only symbolic and they cannot refuse. the bill is now an act of parliament and becomes a law

Question 11

judicial processes

Answer 11

when a judge makes the law instead of parliament. there are 2 ways this can happen: judicial precedent and statutory interpretation

Question 12

judicial precedent

Answer 12

• a law made by judges in the courts, when a judge makes a decision in a case it becomes a law and then must be followed in the future in similar cases
• this is done to ensure the law is applied consistently
• lower courts must abide by decisions made in higher courts

Question 13

donoghue v stevenson (1932)

Answer 13

• 2 friends went to a cafe and 1 drank a bottle of ginger beer that had a decomposing snail in it
• she fell ill and sued the manufacturer
• the court decided that the manufacturer owed a duty of care (neighbour principle), which founded the modern day law of negligence

Question 14

daniels v white (1938)

Answer 14

• the claimant bought a bottle of lemonade that had corrosive metal in it
• the case of donoghue v stevenson was used when suing for compensation
• even though the cases were different, it was ruled as sufficiently similar for the purpose of a precedent

Question 15

statutory interpretation

Answer 15

• judges in the superior courts like the court of appeal and the supreme court are called upon to interpret words and phrases within a stature
• there are certain rules that can be used to make the interpretation

Question 16

the literal rule

Answer 16

the ordinary, disctionary definiton of a word. the judge will start with this

Question 17

whiteley v chappell (1868)

Answer 17

• the defendant was charged with an offence of impersonating any person entitled to vote
• however the person they attempted to impersonate who was on the voters list was dead
• the court found them not guilty as a dead person isn’t entitled to vote

Question 18

the golden rule

Answer 18

this is used when the literal rule would lead to an absurdity. there may be 2 literal meanings of the same word, they would then choose the word that wouldn’t cause an absurdity. if there is only 1 meaning and it would lead to an absurdity, the meaning is slightly adapted

Question 19

adler v george

Answer 19

• it is an offence to obstruct a member of the armed forces in the vicinity of a prohibited place
• in this case the perpetrator was in the prohibited place rather than the vicinity
• the golden rule was applied as it would be absurd for the offender not to be convicted