Law Making - Parliamentary Law Making And Reform Flashcards
How many elected MPs are there?
650 who sit in the lower chamber
How many members are there in the House of Lords?
781 who sit in the upper chamber
26 bishops
91 hereditary peers
664 life peers
Who has to sign off on all new laws?
The monarch
What does the legislator do?
Make the laws
What do the judiciary do?
Review the law
What do the executives do?
Implement the law
Why does parliament make laws?
To keep the public safe
Adapt laws for fairness
Change over time
Balance and multiple viewpoints
Stops dissent (revolt)
To keep order in society
Ensured a process of changing and checking
To punish those who act wrongly
What is an act of parliament?
Laws made by parliament are called Acts and are also referred to as statutes or legislation
In order to make an Act a Bill must be introduced, debated and approved by parliament before receiving royal assent
Role of the House of Lords
Debates and votes on bills
Revises proposals for legislations
Questions the government and amends policies
Powers of the House of Lords
Can delay legislation for up to a year
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 gave them less power (after a year the commons can force a law)
Composition of House of Lords
800+ members
All members unelected and unpaid but receive expenses
Attendance is voluantry
3 types of peers
Role of House of Commons
Debate, scrutinise and vote on laws
Ensures legislation is democratic
Has the greatest influence
Composition of House of Commons
650 MPs
Each MP represents a constituency
MPs are elected in general elections
Government drawn form party with the most elected MPs
PM appoints cabinet
Powers of House of Commons
Supreme legislative powers
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 menas the House of Commons can pass a law without the consent of the lords
What is the government?
Runs the country and are responsible for developing and implementing policy, drafting laws and they sit in the House of Commons
What does the monarch do?
They have final say as to whether a bill is passed into law, however, no monarch has refused a law since Queen Anne in 1707
Under the Royal Assent Act 1961 the monarch only sees the title and summary of the bill
What are the two main types of bills?
Public bills - intended to affect the public as a whole
Private bills - intended to affect one organisation or area
What are the two types of public bill?
Government bills - steered through parliament by a minister from the appropriate government department
Private members bill - sponsored by an individual MP or peer
What is a private members bill?
Introduced by any MP on a particular issue
Private members can only raise such a bill in parliament on specific occasions, there are a number situations in which an MP can raise a Bill (ballot, 10 minute rule and ordinary presentation)
What is the type of private bill?
Personal bills - affect one or two people and always begin in the lords
What is the consultation stage?
Before drafting there is a consultation period where the people concerned with it and experts on the subject create a green paper, proposing the bill
What is a green paper?
Created as part of the consultation process
It is a proposal for the law including the reasons for wanting it and views can be expressed to change the proposal
What is a white paper?
The first firm proposal for the new law and contains details of the bill
What is the parliamentary stage?
A bill cannot become an act until it passes through both houses, starting with the formal introduction to either house in parliament
Finance bills must commence in the house of commons as it is the elected house and has more control over public finance
What are hybrid bills?
They mix the characteristics of public and private bills
They affect the general population but impact specific groups or individuals
Often involve large infrastructure projects
Longer procedure to allow affected parties to petition
What is commencement?
When the act comes into force, this can be immediately, after a set period or after a commencement order by the government minister
If a commencement order is required but not made the act does not come into force
If there is no commencement order, the act will come into force form midnight of the day it is given royal assent
Advantages of parliamentary law making
Democratic process (elected members can debate and amend bills)
MPs representing constituents (legislation should reflect the will of the electorate)
Individual MPs can introduce legislation relevant to their constituents
The process is very thorough
All bills subjected ti detailed scrutiny making sure there’s no mistakes
Disadvantages of parliamentary law making
Undemocratic because lords are not elected and can debate and amend laws (not responsible so may be poor quality)
Elective dictatorship if government has majority parliament
The process is very slow and can take many months
Little time to consider private members bill
Cannot deal with emergencies due to lengthy process
Poor quality law can still be passed
Complex legal language may be difficult for some people to understand meaning law may not be clear contrary to the rule of law
Difficulty finding out which acts/sections are in force
Over elaborate detail used as draftsmen try to cover every possible future situation the act could be applied to
What happens at the first reading?
The bill is announced by reading out the title and summary of the bill in the House of Commons and there is a vote on whether the bill will be discussed further. The vote can be wither verbal or formal
What happens at the second reading?
The main debating stage where all MPs can discuss the bill, ask questions and vote on the bill. The speaker controls the debate and who speaks. Alternatively, the bill may be subject to reasoned amendment int hat there is an objection to the way the bill has been phrased, if this happens then there will be a vote on whether the bill takes place
What happens at the committee stage?
The details of the bill are discussed by a standing committee (group of 16-50 MPs or lords from all parties). They represent both skills needed and enough members to represent the political parties each of the houses and they look at the bill in detail and may make amendments
What happens in the report stage?
Amendments made during committee stage are reported to everyone in the House of Commons. The house will look over the amendments made and vote on them and further amendments can be suggested. Not all amendments have to be suggested and a verbal vote can take place
What happens at the third reading?
Final vote and discussion of the bill. No amendments are made during this stage and discussions are limited. If the vote is passed then the bill will be passed over to the next house
What is meant by royal assent?
The bill doesn’t become a law until midnight of the day the monarch gives royal assent unless there is a specific date for the bill to come into place
What is meant by the job of the whip?
Can force people in the party to vote with their leader
What is an outsider pressure group?
Doesn’t have the ear of the government
E.g. green peace, extinction rebellion
What is an insider pressure group?
Already has the ear of the government
E.g. trade unions, the woodland trust
What are core insiders?
Strong two-way relationship with policy makers (NFU)
What are specialist insiders?
Those who are granted insider status within a narrow area (WWF)
What are peripheral insiders?
Those who have insider status but are rarely needed
What are sectional pressure groups?
They exist to represent the views of a particular group, often workers
They are only open to certain individuals
What are cause pressure groups?
They exist to promote a particular cause
They have open membership from the public
What is the role of the law commission?
They are an independent, full time permanent body that suggests reforms to existing law
They were set up by the Law Commissions Act 1965
They review areas that have become unduly complicated, outdated or unfair
Aims of the law commission
To ensure law is fair, modern and cost effective
To conduct research and consultations in order to make recommendations
To codify law, eliminate anomalies and repeal obsolete and unnecessary enactments
Codify - write down the law
Main functions of the law commission
Codification - bringing together all of the law on a particular area into one act
Consolidation - bringing many acts of parliament into one act of parliament e.g. Education Act 1996
Repeal - removes old law which is of no use
Advantages of the law commssion
Makes good law - it spends lots of time researching law and so is able to be thorough and well informed
Independent - not influenced by political bias
Self investigation - can begin researching law without parliament
Expertise - chairman is a high court judge, each of the commissioners are accomplished academics or qualified lawyers
Research - carries out lots of research
Disadvantages of law commission
No consultation - the government has no obligation to consult with the law commission
No obligation - there is no obligation of the government to do what the law commission suggests
Lengthy investigations - investigations take a long time to complete
Lack of backgrounds - the law commission takes on a huge amount of work and so there may be a lack of thoroughness
Implementation - around 1/3 of the law commission work is not implemented
What is the role of the media?
The channel through which information is communicated to the public
It represents and influences public opinion
R v James Bulger - the media created a petition for the young kidnappers of James Bulger to be tried as adults
Advantages of media
Accesible for everyone
Variety of views which can give an opinion
Can educate the population about current situations
Feedback loop - government put something out, media shows opinions of the people and government takes it into account
Can present public views to government
Puts pressure on government and provides another layer of scrutiny
Disadvantages of media
Can exaggerate issues
Political bias within different outlets (fake news)
Lack of privacy for politicians
Could misinterpret views of the public
Media frenzies
Puts pressure on the government and provides another layer of scrutiny
Advantages of pressure groups
Allow people the opportunity to participate in democracy by being involved in social change
They allow free expression of opinion and the opportunity to influence government
Offer expert opinions on certain political matters
Can influence voting behaviour
Able to raise awareness of issues
Can create positive change
How do pressure groups get the attention of the government?
Protests
Marches
Petitions
Letters
Riots
Propaganda
Direct action
Legislation influenced by pressure groups
1994 - the age for homosexual acts in private was reduced from 21 to 18
In 2000 the age of consent was reduced to 16
Disadvantages of pressure groups
Can cause disruption and destruction
Can influence voting behaviour in an extremist way
Can exaggerate issues
Can have biased opinion
May resort to violence
