Orders-In-Council Flashcards
intro [paragraph 1]
Delegated Legislation (DL) is when Parliament passes down the power to make laws to another authority under a Parent Act (an Act of Parliament). They are then able to make laws in certain areas for their own purpose. The Parent Act is what defines the limits of the powers, who has the powers and how they should be used.
what are they? [paragraph 2]
Orders-in-council are pieces of DL made by the Privy Council, who are given such authority under the two parent acts: the Emergency Powers Act 1920 and the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
privy council [paragraph 3]
The Privy Council is a group of people who include the monarch and senior members of the government (the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer etc). They can meet with as little as 3 people to make orders-in-council.
times of emergency [paragraph 4]
There are only two situations in which orders-in-council are used. The first is in times of emergency under the Emergency Powers Act 1920.
Examples of this include the Foot-And-Mouth Disease (Amendment)(No.10) Order 2001 which allowed the army to shut down farms with outbreaks of Foot-And-Moth Disease and cull any animals within a 5 mile radius of the outbreak. This prohibited a massive outbreak by using an order-in-council as opposed to a new Act of Parliament.
parliament not sitting [paragraph 5]
The other time they can be used is when Parliament is not in session under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
An example of this was the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (amendment Order) 2008 when the Council used its powers to re-classify cannabis from a class C to a class B drug when Parliament were not in session.
