Legal systems: Legislation Flashcards
What is he doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty
Parliament is the supreme law- making body in the country. Statute can amend case law, but not vice versa
What are the 2 most common types of legislation
Acts of Parliament
Statutory instruments
Types of secondary legislation
Statutory instruments
(made by government ministers)
Byelaws (made by local authorities)
What are statutory instruments aka
secondary, subordinate or delegated legislation,
Who makes SI
ministers and civil servants
Where do SIs have their starting point?
a reference in a given statute: a ‘parent’
Act
How are SIs made?
‘laid’ in draft for a period of days in an office in the House of Commons before
being ‘made’, or signed, by the minister, at which point they become law
What are council byelaws
local laws made by local
councils under an enabling provision granted by an Act of Parliament
usually accompanied by some sort of sanction or punishment for non- observance
When can bylaw take effect
when confirmed by the appropriate minister
Types of primary legislation
Private statutes
Public statutes inc:
1. Legislation which makes
or amends the law
2. Consolidating legislation
3. Codifying legislation
First part of AoP
name of the Act aka the short title
(eg. ‘the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998’)
Second part of AoP
Year of the Act and chapter (no. of acts in given sequence)
What is the purpose of an AoPs long title
explaining in more detail the subject matter
(eg. for HRA: An Act to give further effect to rights and freedoms guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights; to make provision with respect to holders of certain judicial offices who become judges of the European Court of Human Rights; and for connected purposes)
What does the date of the act indicate
when Royal Assent was given
What is after the long title on an AoP
he enacting formula, indicating the Act has passed through the necessary constitutional process, namely approval by and consent of the monarch and Parliament.
