parliamentary law making Flashcards
House of Lords
non-elected body
92 hereditary peers
700 llife peers
26 most senior bishops
House of commons
elected by electorate
government is formed by the political party which has majority in the house of commons
what is a green paper
a consultative document with a proposal for law reform
what is a white paper?
a document stating their decision as to how they are going to reform the law
what is a Bill?
a draft law going through parliament before it passes all the parliametary stages to become an act of parliament
How does a Bill become an act of parliament?
when it successfully completes all necessary stages in parliament and recieves royal assent
what types of Bills are there?
private members Bill
government Bill
public Bill
Private Bill
Hybrid Bill
what is a private members Bill?
introduced by private mps
e.g household waste recycling act 2003
what is a public Bill?
involves matters of public policy and affects the general public
e.g legal services act 2005
what is a private bill?
affects a particluar organisation, person or place
e.g faversham oyster fishery company bill 2016
what is a hybrid bill?
introduced by parliament but affects an organisation, person or place
where do Bills start?
in either the house of commons or the house of lords
what is the first stage of the parliamentary process?
First reading- formal procedure where the name of the Bill is read out
what is the second stage?
second reading- the main debate on the whole bill and a vote is taken
what is the third stage?
committee stage- a detailed examination of each clause of the Bill is undertaken by the standing committee
what is the fourth stage?
report stage- the committee report back to the house on their ammendments. They will then be debated and either accepted or rejected
what is the fith stage?
third reading- this is the final vote on the bill
what is the sixth stage?
the house of lords- if the bill was started in the house of commons it is now passed to the house of lords where it goes through the same five stages
what is the final stage?
royal assent- the monarch gives approval to the bill and it becomes an act of parliament
advantages of parliamentary law making
made by elected representatives (democratic)
can reform whole areas of law in one act
allows greater detail through delegated legislation
makes the law certain
disadvantages of parliamentary law making
parliament does not always have time to deal with reforms
parliamentary process can take several months
act are often long and complex
