Criminology Unit 4 Flashcards
What are members of the House of Lords called and how many are there?
Peers, around 800
How many MPs are in the House of Commons?
650
What is the Green Paper?
A report published before putting a bill in parliament to provoke public discussion of the subject
What is the White paper?
A document setting out plans for legislation, including a draft of the bill to put before parliament
Describe the First Reading
The government introduces the bill into the Commons or Lords where it receives a first reading that acts as a formal announcement, followed by a vote before it can move on to its next stage
What is the second reading?
A duplicate of the first reading that happens afterwards
Describe the Committee stage
The bill is examined in large detail by a small committee made up of MPs from different parties. The committee then reports back to the whole house and may suggest amendments (changes) to the bill
What is the report stage?
Small committee of MPs from different parties examine bill before reporting it back to the House of Commons
What is the third reading?
Another reading of the bill which is the final chance for the commons to change it, before the house votes to pass or reject it
What is the House of Lords?
Bill then goes through the same stages in the Lords, returning to the commons if the Lords amended the bill, so the MPs can decide whether to reject these amendments or not
Describe Royal Assent
After being passed through both Houses, the bill goes to the Monarch for signing. The Monarch’s agreement makes the bill into an act of parliament or law
What is judicial precedent?
A source of law making where the past decisions of judges create law for future judges to follow
What is the court hierarchy?
A decision made in a higher court, creates a binding precedent for all lower courts
What are the 2 exceptions to judicial precedent?
Distinguishing - A precedent from a previous case that only binds on a present case if principle involved and the facts are the same in both cases
Overruling - A higher court states a legal decision made earlier is wrong and overturns it
Explain the case where the precedent on marital rape was overruled
In the case of R v R in 1992, a man had been convicted of attempting to rape his wife, appealing on the centuries old grounds that a man could not rape his wife, as marriage gave men irrevocable consent. Due to gender equality in todays society the irrevocable consent was deemed unacceptable and his appeal was not successful.
