Delegated Legislation (Advantages And Disadvantages) Flashcards
What are the advantages of delegated legislation?
- Saves parliamentary time.
- Access to technical expertise.
- Allows consultation.
- Allows quick law making.
- Easy to amend.
What are the disadvantages of delegated legislation?
- Undemocratic.
- Sub-delegation.
- Large volume and lack publicity.
- Difficult wording.
Why is saving parliamentary time an advantage of delegated legislation?
Parliament doesn’t have time to debate every small detail of complex regulations. Making such regulations through delegated legislation saves time.
Why is access to technical expertise an advantage of delegated legislation?
It is impossible that MP’s can have all the knowledge needed to draw up laws on complex areas. By using delegated legislation, the necessary experts can be consulted.
Why is it allowing consultation an advantage of delegated legislation?
Ministers can have the benefit of further consultation before regulations are drawn up. Consultation is particularly helpful for rules on technical matters, where it is important that the regulations are technically workable.
Why is quick law making an advantage of delegated legislation?
The process of passing an Act in parliament can take a very long time and in an emergency parliament may not be able to pass a law fast enough. Orders in Council can be made very quickly to deal with disasters or terrorist threats.
Why is it being easy to amend an advantage of delegated legislation?
Delegated legislation can be amended or revoked easily when necessary to keep the law up to date. This is useful for monetary limit changes, e.g. the minimum wage or limits for legal aid. Ministers can also respond to new unforeseen situations by introducing a statutory instrument.
Why is delegated legislation being undemocratic a disadvantage?
It takes law making away from the democratically elected House of Commons and allows non-elected people to make law. This is acceptable provided there is sufficient control but parliaments control can be fairly fairly limited. These criticisms can not be made of by-laws.
Why is sub-delegation a disadvantage of delegated legislation?
This means law making authority is handed down another level. This cause comments that much of our law is made by civil servants and merely ‘rubber stamped’ by the minister of that department.
Why is large volume and lack publicity a disadvantage of delegated legislation?
Large volume of delegated legislation makes it difficult to discover what the present law is. This problem is aggravated by a lack of publicity, a much of it is made in private and passed through parliament without debate.
Why is difficult wording a disadvantage of delegated legislation?
Just like Acts of Parliament delegated legislation can be complex and have obscure wording that can lead to difficulty in understanding what the law means. Statutory interpretation would have to be used to understand the meaning of this form of legislation.
