parliamentary law making

Question 1

Who is the main law making body in the UK

Answer 1

Parliament. It creates Acts of Parliament/Statutes and delegated legislation.

Question 2

What are some other influences on law making

Answer 2

• Other influences on law making include campaigning and public pressure. An example of this is all the reforms introduced with regard to same sex relationships, from the decriminalisation of homosexuality to the introduction of equal marriage rights.

Question 3

What is the structure of parliament

Answer 3

Parliament consists of House of Commons and House of Lords. The House of Commons is made up of elected MPs

HOC

• 650 MPS
• MPS are elected to serve a constituency

HoL

• Non elected
• Appointed/life peers
• 800 unelected members
• Hereditary peers who inherited their seats
• Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011
• The House of Lords Act 1999 reformed the chamber and all but 92 of the hereditary peers were removed
• The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 removed the Law Lords (now Supreme Court Justices).

Question 4

What is devolution ?

Answer 4

Devolution is where central government grants power to subordinate authorities while retaining sovereignty.
- This enables these regional bases to make law relating to their area. The Government of Wales Act 1998 created the Assembly for Wales.

Question 5

What are some of the characteristics of the UK constitution?

Answer 5

• Uncodified -does not have a single legal document which sets out the fundamental laws outlining how the state works;
• We rely on three key principles to underpin the UK’s unwritten constitution; parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law and the separation of powers. Prerogative powers

Question 6

What are three principles of the Royal Preoragative

Answer 6

. The supremacy of statute law. Where there is a conflict between the prerogative and statute, statute prevails. Statute law cannot be altered by use of the prerogative;

2. Use of the prerogative remains subject to the common law duties of fairness and reason. It is therefore possible to challenge use of the prerogative by judicial review in most cases;
3. While the prerogative can be abolished or abrogated by statute, it can never be broadened. However, Parliament could create powers by statute that are similar to prerogative powers in their nature.

Question 7

Define parliamentry sovereignty

Answer 7

• This the principle that Parliament holds absolute and unlimited power; an Act of Parliament can completely overrule any custom,

Question 8

What does Dicey’s theory link to ?

Answer 8

Parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law.

Parliament is sovereign and can make and unmake any law on any subject without legal constraints. This means they are the highest source of English law.

2. No Parliament can bind another. An Act of Parliament passed by one Parliament can be repealed by the next Parliament.
3. No Act can be challenged by a court, nor its validity questioned. This means an Act of Parliament cannot be overruled by another arm of the state.

Question 9

How does Dicey’s theory link to the rule of law ?

Answer 9

Looks at that the concept of the rule of law has three parts:

1. No sanction without breach No one should be punished unless they have breached the law. Cases should always be dealt with fairly and heard before the courts.
2. One law should govern everyone. No man should be above the law and everyone should be subject to the law before the courts. The rule of law applies equally to the prime minister and government ministers as to citizens. This ensures equality before the law.
3. Rights of individuals are secured by decisions of judges. This follows the principle of judicial precedent. Decision of higher courts are followed by lower courts and in this way no new legal principles are created.

This theory is illustrated by the Black Spider Memos case, and the Belmarsh Priso

Question 10

What is the separation of powers

Answer 10

Montesquieu - identified ideas regarding the separation of powers and argued that the only way to safeguard civil liberties is to keep them separate

Legislature – law-making arm of the State and in our system this is Parliament.

Executive – in the British political system this is the Government which forms the Cabinet.

Judiciary- judges, who apply the law.

• the constitutional reform act extended the separation of powers because it took supreme court justices out of the HOL

Question 11

How is an act of parliament created ?

Answer 11

• When a proposed Act is published and is going through the parliamentary procedure it is called a Bill

Question 12

What are the different types of bills

Answer 12

• Hyrbid bills
• Private members bill - This is introduced by an individual MP, Very few Private Members Bills become Acts. Examples include the Abortion Act 1967 and the Marriage Act 1994. Homelessness reduction act 2017
• Private bills - These are intended to affect one particular area or organisation rather than the public as a whole , e.g. University College London Act 1996 that was passed to combine two schools of medicine with UCL these begin in the HOL
• Public bills -are introduced by government -These are intended to affect the public as a whole and most of the Government Bills fall into this category e.g. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and eu withdrawal bill Generally changes the law throughout the whole country

Question 13

What is a private members bill ?

Answer 13

• is is introduced by an individual MP rather than a government minister. The Parliamentary process allows for a ballot in each session in which 20 MPs are selected who can then present their bill to the House of Commons. Very few Private Members Bills become Acts. Examples include the Abortion Act 1967 and the Marriage Act 1994.

Question 14

What is an example of a private bill

Answer 14

These are intended to affect one particular area or organisation, e.g. University College London Act 1996 that was passed to combine two schools of medicine with UCL.

Question 15

What is an example of Public Bills

Answer 15

These are intended to affect the public as a whole and most of the Government Bills fall into this category e.g. Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Question 16

How is an act created ?

Answer 16

Through;
1. Green paper- A Green Paper is issued by Minister with responsibility for the matter. It is a consultative document on a topic in which the government’s view is put forward with proposals for change, interested parties are invited to comment so that full consideration can be made and if necessary changes can be made. ie the dangerous dogs act 1991

2. White paper -his is then published by the government and has firm proposals for the new law. If the consultation is successful and the government decides to proceed with the legislation a draft bill will be produced and introduced to Parliament.

Question 17

What are the steps that take place for a bill to go through parliament ?

Answer 17

• This procedure can be through the HOC or the HOL but normally starts in the HOC
  1. First reading - letting MPs and the public know about the proposed legislation. The first reading is a formal procedure where the main aims and name of Bill read out
  2. Second reading- explaining the purpose of the Bill. This is the main debate on the whole Bill, MPs debate the principles behind the Bill but the debate does not focus on the details of Bill.
  3. Committee stage- looking at the details of the Bill This is a detailed examination of each clause of the Bill and it is carried out by a committee of between 16 and 50 MPs. This is known as a Standing Committee and it is specifically chosen to do the examination.
  4. Report stage- further consideration & changes by the House of Commons At the committee stage amendments to clauses of the Bill may have been voted on and passed and at this stage.
  5. Third reading- overall examination of the Bill This is the final vote on the Bill. It is almost a formality and it is unlikely a Bill will fail at this stage. There will only be further debate on the Bill as a whole if at least 6 MPs request it.
  6. HOL - If a Bill started off in the Commons it is now passed to the Lords and goes through a similar procedure as in the Commons. If the Lords make amendments it has to go back to Commons for it to consider these. If the Bill started in the Lords then it passes to the Commons. ( this is where ping pong occurs because its going back and forth between the HOL & HOC
  7. Royal assent- his is the final stage where the monarch formally gives approval to the Bill and it becomes an Act. This is only a formality and under the Royal Assent Act 1961
  8. Commencement- This is where an act come into force

Question 18

What is meant by the commencement of an act

Answer 18

• It comes into force on midnight of that day unless another date has been set.
  There is a growing trend for Acts not to be implemented immediately, e.g. Disability Discrimination

Question 19

What is the pre legislative process ?

Answer 19

1. Green paper- consolation document which sets out gov proposals and allows everyone affected by it to give there views so this can be taken into account ie competition and markets green paper 2018
2. White paper- firm proposal of the new law
3. Draft bill - this includes formal legal language

Question 20

ADV & DISV of parliamentry law making

Answer 20

1. -Is apart of the democratic process- elected member’s of the house of commons can debating and amending where as house of lords cannot block a bill , this suggests that they are reflecting the will of the electorate because they are representing their constituency
2. Mps can introduced legislation which is relevant to their constitutes and their own moral and ethical interests using private members bill- this can lead to changes in the law that have popular support even if they arent formally backed by gov ie abortion act 1967
3. Debates are made thoroughly- this involves debates being closely examined and scrutinised specifically at the committee stage

DISV
1.It is undemocratic - this is because members of the house of lords can also amend and debate legislation even tho they are not elected. this is undemocratic because it means that unelected and unaccountable people are making the law

2. Slow legislative process- it can take many months for proposed legislation to become law , and includes pointless informalities such as the royla assent , this suggests that the process is not suitable for dealing with emergency’s
3. Complexities- some legal language used is hard to understand for people who are not legally qualified this is contray to the rule of law which indicates that the law should be ascertainable

3.