Delegated Legislation Flashcards
What is Delegated Legislation?
This is where parliament gives someone else power to make local laws
What kinds of delegated legislation are there?
Types
- Orders in Council
- By-laws
- Statutory instruments
Who are orders in council made by?
Types
The King, and Privy Council
Why do we have orders in council?
Types
To make law quickly with some reprisentation of parliament
When are orders in council used?
Types
- Ammend or update laws
- Transfer of government
- Make laws in times of emergency when parliament isn’t sitting (Civil Contingencies Act 2004)
Example of Orders in Council
Types
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2008 - This reclassed canabis as a Class B drug.
Who makes By-Laws?
Types
Local Authorities
Where do By-laws apply?
Types
to the areas the council or public body has control
Why do we have by-laws?
Types
- Quicker for local authorities to make these decisions
- Those local authorities should know the area better than parliament
Examples of by-laws
Types
Traffic regulation
No smoking in the london underground
Who makes statutory instruments?
Types
Made by the government departments and ministers.
These laws are known as Rules, regulations, and orders and apply nationaly.
What can statutory instruments be made about?
Types
Can only be made for the minister’s area of responsibility
Why do we have statutory instruments
Types
Because those who make them are specialists and create better laws
Example of statutory instruments
Types
Police Codes of Practice:
- Minister of Justice
- The Police and Criminal Evidence Act - “PaCe”
What are the reasons for deligated legislation?
- Time:Parliament doesn’t have time to debate every detail of every act. Laws can be made quicker by spliting up work
- Expertise:Parliament will not always have necessary expertise to make the best laws, Parliamentary instruments are made by experts in those feilds
- Knowledge of issues Parliament doesn’t know the issues that happen on a local level. By-laws are made by those who know these areas.
- Made more easily DL can be made more easily allowing quicker responses to changing circumstances. AoP have many stages to pass, whereas OiC can skip this when the law needs to respond to emergencies
How does the enabling act control DL?
controls on DL
- what powers to deligate
- which Gov Ministers to give powers to
- where the deligated law applies**
- how they make deligated law
- P can repeal the EA at anytime, institutly removing the power of the deligated body to make law
What is the negative resolution procedure?
controls on SI
SI is proposed and will becme law immediately, and will stay law unless parliament rejects within 40 days.
SI = statutory instruments
Affirmative resolution procedure
controls on SI
require Parliament to actually approve the SI before it becomes law. Affirmative resolutions usually only apply to important bits of DL.
For example: Changes to the PaCe Police Code must be approved beforehand. Parliament cannot ammend or change these.
What does the questioning of government ministers ential?
During a parliamentary debate parliament will ask the minister who is creating SI, questions to get a better understanding.
What does the Scrutiny committee do?
The Joint Select Committee can also refer SIs to Parliament if they:
- apply retrospectively
- go beyond the Enabling Act
- use their powers in an unusual way.
However, the Committee cannot alter the SI themselves, just refer it to Parliament.
What does Judicial review mean?
This is where someone with a standing in the case wants the KBD to make the DL ultra vires.
What does ultra Vires mean?
Where the DL is declared void.
What are the 3 reasons the courts can declare something ultra vires?
- The DL goes beyond the powers granted by the parent act
- The DL did not follow the correct procedure
- A decisin made under DL was unreasonable
Explain the DL goes beyond the powers granted by the parent act
R v Home Secretary ex partite Fire Brigades Union - The home secretary was allowed to decide the date to introduce a scheme, he changed the scheme itself. The courts decided that this was ultra vires.
