deck_5656193 Flashcards
What are the different ways that laws can be created?
Parliamentary law making, judicial precedent, delegated legislations and European Union law
What is Parliament?
Made up of the House of Commons (elected MPs), the House of Lords (inherited or appointed Lords) and the Queen. All three must agree on a law for it to be made and come into force
What is Government?
Responsible for the everyday running of the country. It consists of MPs from the largest party in the House of Commons and a smaller number of lords. The head of the Government is the Prime Minister, who is assisted by senior ministers in the cabinet
What is the Law Commission?
Created by the Law Commission Act 1965 and gives the commission its powers and duties (role is to ‘keep under review all the law’ . Its an independent, permanent and full time law reform body, staffed by 5 law commissioners, one being the chairperson who is the public face and voice, and also oversees repeal and consolidation. Chairperson is a high court judge and the other commissioners are well qualified, experienced practicing or academic lawyers, each supported by team of barristers, solicitors, parliamentary draftsmen, researchers and administrative staff
What does the law commission deal with?
Repeals, codification and consolidation
What is repeal?
Removal of laws that have no further use (become out of date or irrelevant over time) removed as they are time consuming and cause confusion when researching law. Removal of over 800 laws in April 2012. With limited exceptions once an act of parliament
What is codification?
Bringing together of all the law on a particular topic into a single act of parliament
What is consolidation?
Bringing all the statutory provisions relating to a particular area into one act
What is the difference between codification and consolidation?
Consolidation deals only with statutory laws which is laws made in courts, whereas codification deals with all laws
What are three influences on parliamentary law making?
The law commission, pressure groups and the media
How does the law commission influence parliamentary law making?
States the role of the commission is to keep under view of the law. Computer misuse act 1990. Their investigations start with research and working papers to set out current problems and suggestions, then theres a consultation and a report including a draft bill then government decides whether to implement it, eg law reform (year and a day rule) act 1996
What are the advantages of the law commission?
Legal, non political expertise. Thorough and well informed recommendations. Accurate wording of bills to deal with issue effectively which avoids problems. Independent body so all law is kept under review, not just what the government wants. Create draft bills so there is less delay
What are the disadvantages of the law commission?
One third of recommendations aren’t implemented. Government doesn’t have to consult them on new laws and many take yeas to become a law as it gets interrupted by other investigations
How effective are the law commission?
They are effective but can take a long time to create a law and they have power/know what they are doing
How do pressure groups influence parliamentary law making?
They raise awareness and campaign for changes in the law. Major sectional groups are often influential as there are large groups of people whose support the government needs to gain or retain, but one person pressure groups can also be influential eg Jamie Oliver and The Education (nutritional standards for school food) (England) regulations that came in force 1st September 2007
What are the advantages of pressure groups?
They are knowledgeable on the subjects, remind parliament about issues that are important to them and the public and some are large groups eg the National Trust. Also can raise awareness through a number of tactics eg AllOut who used online petitions, youtube videos and social media to spread knowledge and encourage protests
What are the disadvantages of pressure groups?
Inevitably biased for their cause and may not present an objective/balanced argument eg Fathers 4 justice often overlook that courts and mothers often attempt to achieve whats best for the child. Passion can lead to criminal behaviour and undesirable tactics eg animal activists damaging scientific laboratories that experiment on animals. Opinions also may only represent a small minority of the population
How effective are pressure groups?
They are effective but they rely on the media
How does the media influence parliamentary law making?
Represents and influences public opinion as they are able to exert considerable influence on reform of laws. Name and shame campaign run by News of the world after a murder of a child by a paedophile and led to police keeping registers of convicted paedophile. Law reform can also be prompted by more than one source eg media led to law commission investigation, which led to the criminal justice act 2003 which reformed the double jeopardy rule
What are the advantages of the media?
Raises government awareness of matters and of public concern often shown by pressure groups and supported by media. Snow drop campaign by Daily mail after Dunblane shooting was successful and led to banning of handguns. Also raises public awareness which is needed for the government to feel pressured into reforming legislation
What are the disadvantages of the media?
Newspapers don’t have to stay politically neutral so broadcast their own views, making them biased (The Sun is traditionally supported by the conservative party) and newspapers want to make a profit so write what will sell
How effective is the media?
Effective as it can quickly influence a large amount of the public and their opinions on the government however it can be misleading
What are three examples of pressure groups?
Climate Change Act 2008, The Education (Nutritional Standards for School Dinners) Regulations 2006, and, Digital Economy Act 2010
What are the different types of pressure groups?
Sectional or interest groups, cause groups, insider groups and outsider groups
What are sectional or interest groups?
They exist to further their particular section of society eg Trade Unions, British Medical Association etc
What are cause groups?
They promote an idea or belief eg Fathers for justice and environmental groups
What are insider groups?
They have direct access to MPs and are often sectional groups
What are outsider groups?
They don’t have access to MPs and may use direct action or barely legal methods to promote their cause
How do bills become acts?
Can start in either house, first reading, second reading, committee stage, report stage, third reading, first to third reading is repeated in other house, consideration of amendments and then the royal assent
What happens at the first reading?
Usually no discussion, vote to decide if the bill is given a second reading, and the title of the bill is read out
What happens at the second reading?
Debate is held, the minister reads the bills overall purpose and then a vote is taken
What happens at the committee stage?
Detailed examination and amendments may be proposed by committee of between 16 and 50 MPs that represent proportions of parties in the house, and generally have a specific interest in the bill or specialist knowledge. Scrutinises bill line by line and clause by clause. All amendments are voted on (In house of lords, the whole house scrutinises the bill, no specialist standing committee)
What happens at the report stage?
Committee reports back and there is a discussion followed by a vote on each amendment. House can then make additional amendments that are too voted on. If no amendments in the committee stage, the report stage isn’t needed
What happens at the third reading?
Review of whole bill and vote for whether bill should go to other house. The stage is often a formality and is unlikely to fail this stage as it passed all the others. In the house of lords, further amendments can be made at this stage
What is the consideration of amendments?
When the other house goes through the same process and creates amendments which are passed to the original house who can then make more amendments and pass back to the other house. This is known as the ping-pong stage as the bill is passed between each house until an agreement can be made
What is the Royal Assent?
Formal consent of the monarch, who hasn’t assented in person since 1854, but is now given by speaker in commons and lord speaker in the lords. It is a formality and hasn’t been declined since 1707 when Queen Anne refused to assent to the Scottish Militia Bill. If this happened now it would jeopardise the future position of the monarchy. Bills then often come into force at midnight, but sometimes get given a set date to come into force so necessary resources can be prepared and put into place first
What are the three main types of bill?
Public bills, private bills and hybrid bills
What are public bills?
A bill affecting the general public-some apply to the whole of the UK and others only apply to England and Wales
What are the two types of public bills?
Government bills and private members’ bills
What is a government bill?
A bill introduced into Parliament by a government minister for that area of policy and they account for the majority of bills introduced to parliament each year
Why do most government bills become acts of parliament?
Because they are supported by the government
How many government bills are routine (introduced no matter what party is in power as it is to do with things like collecting taxes)?
About one quarter
Why may government bills be introduced?
To honour manifesto promises, in response to a specific incident or matter of concern, in order to comply with international treaties eg the Treaty of Rome and to follow recommendation by a law reform body such as the Law Commission
What is a green paper?
Consultation document issued by government before introducing bill. Contains outline policy proposals for debate and discussion before a decision is taken on the best option. Often contains several alternative policy options
What is an example?
High Speed Rail, issued in March 2010 setting out the Governments proposals for a high speed tail line from London to Birmingham and the North
What is a white paper?
It follows the consultation and the government publishes firmer recommendations in this paper. Sometimes it is issued without a preceding Green paper.
What is an example of a white paper?
‘putting victims first-more effective responses to anti-social behaviour’ issued by the Home Office in May 2012, which set out governments plans to replace ASBOs and deal with anti social behaviour
What are draft bills?
They are examines by select committees in either house or by joint committee of both houses. They enable consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny before bills are formally introduced
What is an example of a draft bill?
The draft energy bill introduced in 2012, which proposes to further the governments objectives in meeting decarbonisation and renewable energy targets. It is being considered by the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change select committee
What is a private members bill?
A public bill introduced into parliament by a backbench MP in the commons or by a peer in the House of Lords
Why do less private members bills become law?
Because of the shortage of parliamentary debate time allocated to them as the government allocates more time to their own bills
What is an example of an act that was introduced as a private members bill?
The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1967 and the Abortion Act 1967
What are the advantages of these bills?
Despite the fact that they rarely become law, they play an important role in raising public and government awareness of an issue, and often lead to future government legislation
What is an example of this?
Ken Livingstone’s Wild Animals (Hunting with Dogs) Bill which became the Hunting Act 2004
What is a private bill?
A bill affecting a particular individual or organisation, or a specific locality. They are introduced into parliament through a petition by the individual, organisation or local authority concerned but they are rare compared to public bills
What is an example of a private bill?
Edward Berry and Doris Eileen Ward (Marriage Enabling) Act 1980, the result of a personal bill, which was passed to allow a stepfather and stepdaughter to marry as long as they were adults when they first met
What is a hybrid bill?
They are a cross between a public bill and a private bill. They are introduced by a government minister and, if enacted, will affect particular individuals, organisations or localities
What is an example of this?
The Channel Tunnel (Rail Link) Act 1996 which had a particular impact on landowners and residents in Kent. Another example is the Crossrail Act 2008 to build a new east to west rail link through central London
What are the roles of the House of Commons?
Ensures that the legislative process is democratic, make policy, decide how to run the country, [debate, scrutinise and vote] on proposed laws, and MPs directly challenge government ministers through rigorous questioning
What are the roles of the House of Lords?
Complement the work of the commons, scrutinise and amend proposed legislation, pose questions to government, debate policy issues and matters of current concern and the European Union committee examines proposed European Legislation
What are the roles of The Crown?
Little power, three key law making functions, 1.open each parliamentary session, 2.to give royal assent to all legislation, 3.appoint and dismiss the prime minister
What are the advantages of parliamentary law making?
Scrutiny (its very thorough), democratic (parliament acts 1911 and 1949 mean delaying powers of lords is limited for a month for money bills and a year for others (lords and monarch have limited roles), the House of Lords acts as a checking mechanism, there is flexibility (all MPs can propose new laws)
What are the disadvantages of parliamentary law making?
Undemocratic (House of Lords and the queen aren’t elected), government control is too powerful and can overcome house of lords by parliament acts and has a majority so can pass bills that it wants to, slow process (many stages and the royal assent is a formality so it is is pointless and holds up the process and it is a dated process with language and statistics that are ambiguous, unclear, obscure and over-elaborate (dangerous dogs act 1991)
When was the supremacy of Parliament established?
The 17th century, because in 1689 the Bill of Rights was enacted and deemed parliament to be the supreme law maker. It also declared that Parliament was to be freely elected every three years, that the levying of tax was subject to parliamentary consent and that it was illegal for Monarchy to interfere with the law as enacted by Parliament except for granting the royal assent
What does parliamentary sovereignty mean?
Parliament is the supreme law-maker in the UK. This was expressed clearly by A.V. Dicey, a 19th century constitutional lawyer in 1885
What does parliamentary sovereignty mean for parliament?
Its power is unlimited and can make law on any topic, the validity of parliamentary law cant be questioned by anybody, including the courts, the Church and the Monarchy, and no one Parliament can limit the law-making power of any future Parliament and so impossible for any parliament to pass a permanent law or to entrench an Act of Parliament
When was the supremacy of parliament established?
In the 17th century, in 1689 the Bill of Rights was enacted, which deemed Parliament to be the supreme law maker
What does Article IX state?
The freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of parliament
What did the Bill of Rights also declare?
That parliament was to be freely elected every three years, that the levying of tax was subject to parliamentary consent and that it was illegal for the monarchy to interfere with the law as enacted by parliament (apart fro granting Royal Assent)
Who expressed the meaning of parliamentary sovereignty?
A.V. Dicey, a 19th century constitutional lawyer, in his work ‘Introduction to the study of the law of the constitution’ in 1885
What did Dicey write about parliamentary sovereignty?
The principle of parliamentary sovereignty means…that parliament…has the right to make or unmake any law whatever; and, further, that no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of parliament
What did Dicey mean for parliamentary sovereignty?
Parliament’s power is unlimited and it can make law on any topic, the validity of parliamentary law cannot be questioned by anybody including the courts/church/monarchy, and no one parliament can limit the law making power of any future parliament so therefore it’s impossible to pass a permanent law or entrench an Act of Parliament
What are some of the things that effect parliamentary sovereignty?
The European Union, the Human Rights Act 1998, and devolution
When did the UK join the EEC/EU?
January 1st 1973
What was then given effect in the UK?
The Treaty of Rome 1957, other amendment treaties and secondary legislation (made under authority of the treaties), by the European Communities Act 1972
What is the Treaty of Rome 1957?
The founding Treaty of the European Economic Community, now known as the European Union
What is the European Communities Act 1972?
The Act of Parliament that incorporates EU law into UK domestic law, the effect of this Act is that Acts of Parliament are now subordinate to European Law
How does the European Union effect parliamentary sovereignty?
Membership of the EU takes priority over conflicting laws in member states and the European Communities Act 1972 incorporates this. Even if parliament passes an act that conflicts with EU law, EU law must prevail as show in in Factortame case 1990, but if there is no EU law, Parliament is supreme
What happened in the Factortame case 1990?
The ECJ held that domestic courts must suspend domestic legislation while waiting for a ruling from the ECJ as to whether the domestic legislation contravenes European Community law
What is the effect of the Human Right Act 1889 on Parliamentary supremacy?
Incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into English Law. Under the act, the convention doesn’t have superiority over English law and parliament can still make laws that conflict with it. However under s3 of the act, courts are required as far as possible to interpret acts so they comply with the convention. If not, a judge can make a declaration of incompatibility, though ministers aren’t obliged to change the law, eg A and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department 2004
What is devolution?
Following referendums in Scotland and Wales, and by the Scotland Act 1998, and the Government of Wales Act 1998, the Westminster Parliament has devolved certain powers to Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, so they can make laws for their own countries without referring back to Westminster, but as a result some sovereignty has been removed
