Parlimentary Law Making Flashcards
Describe the legislative procedure in Parliament (4 points)
The parliament consists of HoC, HoL and Queen.
Members of parliament sit in the House of Commons and represent a political party.
parliament considers proposed legislation for the whole of united kingdom which applies only for england.
If a government is unsure about the details of a law it wishes to introduce, it issues a green paper.
- Following this, the government publishes a white paper with its firm proposals for new law.
Outline the different types of bills (four)
Public bills, where they effect the whole population of the country and are put foward by the government.
e.g. EU withdrawal bill.
Private member’s bills, that also effect the whole country but instead put foward by individual MP’s.
less likely to become law unless supported by gov, e.g. The Abortion Act 1967.
Private Bill’s which change the law regarding specific individuals or organisations, not the public.
e.g. Middle level bill
Hybrid bills mixes characteristics of public and private bills. Means they affect general population of UK, but impafts specific groups or individuals.
Describe the legislative process in the House Of Commons for a bill which commences there (6 points)
They start off with First reading, formal procedure where name and main aims of bill are read out.
Second Reading, the main debate on the whole bill in which MP’s debate on is he principles behind the bill.
Committee Stage where they thoroughly examine every clause of the bill.
Report stage is when the committee reports back to the house of amendments or additions accepted by them.
Third Reading is the final vote on the bill, then it will be passed to house of lords for further debate and consideration.
The House of Lords may not accept the bill and send it back. Till the bill ends up going back and fourth to both houses making process called Ping Pong stage.
However , the house of commons has the right to use AJA 1969.
Explain the role of the House of Lords In the Law making process (5 points)
First Reading, which is a formal procedure where the name and main aims of the bill are read out.
Second reading is the main debate on the whole bill which MPs debate on the principles behind the bill.
Committee stage is if the bill passes second reading, committee stage will thoroughly examine every clause of the bill.
Report Stage is when the committee reports back to the house of amendments or additions accepted by them.
Third Reading is the final vote on the bill. It will then be passed to the House Of Commons for further debate and consideration. If it passes the stages in the House of Commons, it will be put foward for Royal Assent.
Describe the advantages of the legislative procedure (4 points)
12 marka
Democratic as law is being made by elected representatives. As there has to be a general election at least once every five years, the electorate can vote out any government if it has not peformed as the public expected and introduced promised law reforms.
Green Papers as before a bill is presented to parliament, there will often have been consultation on the proposed changes to the law.
this allows government to take into consideration objections and further suggestions on their original proposals
Draft Bills as parliament can act on reports and the draft bills prepared by the law commission, who will have consulted widely and investigated the state of existing law and the need to reform.
Emergency, where law can be introduced, debated and enacted quickly. e.g the Introduction of the coronavirus act 2020, which gave the government emergency powers to handle the pandemic.
Describe the Disadvantages of the legislative procedure (4 points)
12 marka
It can be a lengthy process as the time it takes to pass all of the stages can mean it can take years for a law to be passed.
e.g. the ping pong effect taken on laws like the assisted dying bill and consumer rights act 2015.
Argued that its Undermocratic because the House of Lords is unelected, the approval of the Crown id undemocratic, and although MP’s are democratically elected, they are often obliged to ‘take the whip’ and vote on party lines rather than voting with their conscience or in the interests of their consistuents.
Time as government and parliament do not always have the time or inclination to deal with all the reforms that are proposed. E.g. a law still awaiting for teform is the law on assaults and other non fatal offences agaisnt the person.
There is Lack of specialists as MPs are not specialists in all areas of legislation, which may mean that some pieces of legislation will not receive detailed scrutiny in the House of Commons.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of creating law using acts of Parliament (4 points)
12 marka
The good thing about creating law using acts of parliament is that
its..
• Law is being Made by our elected parliamentary representatives making the system very democratic. General election every 5 years so can be voted out if not performing as promised.
• Statutes can reform whole areas of law in one act such as merging criminal law with the Fraud Act 2006. This abolished old offences of deception and fraud and created a new, simpler structure of offences. Judges can change only very small areas of law linked to the case they are dealing with.
However, there can be disadvantages, such as..
• A lot of the language, statues and evidence for the Parliaments to build on their laws with is old and outdated, with complex language that nobody can really interpret.
• Proposals for reform made but often never done. Assaults and Other Offences Against The Person - the Law Commission proposed changes in 1993 as the old law dated back to 1861 and was confusing. Draft Bill published in 1998 but not put before Parliament and still not reformed.
