PLM +/- Flashcards
Give the first advantage of Parliamentary Law Making
Parliament has lots of resources which enable it to take advice before creating law. Parliament will consult many interested parties and experts, or even national polls to gauge public opinion. For example, when Parliament considered extending pub drinking hours they consulted police, pub landlords and Alcoholics Anonymous in order to learn different views and potential consequences. This is good because Parliament has lots of information on which to make good laws that others don’t have access to. However, this makes the process very lengthy and means laws often don’t get made for a long time, making the law slow to change with society.
Give the first disadvantage of Parliamentary Law Making
It is very lengthy because there are various stages from green paper to royal assent, with several debates and potential for a bill to get stuck in ‘ping pong’ between the two houses. There are many bills that never became acts because Parliament ran out of time, particularly private members bills without Government support. This is bad because law will not update quickly and there may be situations which are not covered by law for a long time. However, this process means laws that do get made are better, as they have been debated and discussed with all relevant parties.
Give the second advantage of Parliamentary Law Making
Parliament has lots of resources which enable it to take advice before creating law. Parliament will consult many interested parties and experts, or even national polls to gauge public opinion. For example, when Parliament considered extending pub drinking hours they consulted police, pub landlords and Alcoholics Anonymous in order to learn different views and potential consequences. This is good because Parliament has lots of information on which to make good laws that others don’t have access to. However, this makes the process very lengthy and means laws often don’t get made for a long time, making the law slow to change with society.
Give the second disadvantage of Parliamentary Law Making
Parliament don’t have time to make laws about everything. They have many functions, such as dealing with terrorist activity, finances and Brexit meaning less urgent matters are not handled fast. In 1993, the Law Commission recommended important changes to the OAPA (1861). However, despite it being acknowledged that the law needs reforming, Parliament still haven’t made any changes. This is bad because problems with the law may not not be solved by Parliament at all meaning judges have to step inl. However, issues that Parliament do deal with are of great importance so it makes sense that a democratically elected body prioritise the most important decisions for society.
Give the third advantage of Parliamentary Law Making
Acts are made democratically because 650 MPs who make up the House of Commons are elected. If the voting public are unhappy with the laws made by Parliament they won’t vote them back into power. The poll tax is an example of a law brought in by the conservatives in 1990s that was so unpopular that it caused Margaret Thatcher to retire. Democratic laws should reflect what the majority want and thus be more likely to be obeyed. However, by trying to please everyone, Parliament may make very complex acts covering a host of situations making it hard to apply and ineffective.
Give the third disadvantage of Parliamentary Law Making
Acts can be too complex. Parliament has to deal with national issues that often have far reaching effects so need to try and cover a lot of potential situations. For example, the Health and Safety at Work Act tries to protect workers in modern offices and old factories alike even though the issues are different. This is bad because to try and cover every possibility the Acts are very long making the law hard to apply and ineffective. However, the benefit of Parliament being able to make broad acts is that they can reform whole areas of law at once, solving problems faster than judges could with individual precedents.
Give the fourth advantage of Parliamentary Law Making
The process to make Acts involves the HofC as well as the HofL and the Monarch. This means that three distinct groups can review and refine the law, but the main power still lies with the democratic body. For example, when the HofL tried to oppose the Hunting Bill, the HofC were able to push it through regardless. This is good as it means that public opinion will be reflected, but problems should be picked up during the process. However, this arguably goes against separation of powers because the Government has large control over law making, making them both the executive and the legislature.
Give the fourth disadvantage of Parliamentary Law Making
Goes against the separation of powers and gives the Government too much control of law. This is because the Government are part of the HofC making them both the executive and legislature. For example, between 2016 and 2017, 25/28 of Public Bills put forward were given royal assent but only 8/163 Private Members Bills were. This shows Government has a huge influence on laws made compared to the rest of Parliament, even though it isn’t meant to be Government responsible for law making. However, at least the Government is democratically elected and so should have more say than the HofL and the Monarch who are not.
