Parliamentary Law Making

Question 1

House of Commons

Answer 1

-elected by the general public.
-The country is divided into constituencies and each of these votes for one MP.
-There must be a General Election every five years but in addition to this there may be individual by-elections where the MP has died or retired during a session of parliament.

Question 2

House of Lords

Answer 2

-The House of Lords is a non-elected body consisting of 92 hereditary peers, around 640 life peers and 26 of the most senior bishops in the church of England
-There are no longer any judges who sit in the House of Lords, they now sit in the Supreme court since it was formed in 2009.

Question 3

What can influence law making?

Answer 3

-Kings’ speech, lobbying, public opinion, pressure groups, media, law commission, manifesto, Judges’ decisions and petitions.

Question 4

North London Railway v Berriman

Answer 4

• Judges must follow legislature even if poorly made.

Question 5

Pre-legislative Process

Answer 5

-Green paper, white paper.

Question 6

Green paper

Answer 6

• A consultive document on a topic in which a government’s view is put forward with proposals for law reform, interested parties are then invited to send comments to the government department so necessary changes can be made to the proposals.

Question 7

White paper

Answer 7

• A document containing the governments firm proposals for new law, once the white paper has been published the proposals are drafted into a bill, this is a proposed act of parliament, but it will only become an act if it successfully completes all stages in the legislative process.

Question 8

Types of Bills

Answer 8

-Public bill
-private bills
-hybrid bills
-Private members’ (Non-government Bills introduced by individual MP’s, often deal with narrow issues, ballot or 10-minute rule)

Question 9

Parliament Act 1949

Answer 9

-Took house of lords’ ability to reject a bill.