recap legislation

Question 1

primary legislation

Answer 1

A general term which encompasses all ‘main laws’ which are formed in the legislative body of the UK

Anything which has been created in Parliament

Acts of Parliament, Scottish Parliament, National Assembly of Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly

Question 2

public bills

Answer 2

Public Bills: change the law for the entire population and are the most common type of law – mostly introduced by govt ministers

A public bill becomes law when it receives royal assent and is then known as an AoP

Example: Offences Against the Person Act (1861)

If you oppose a bill you can write to your MP or Lord, lobby parliament or submit evidence to the relevant committee

Question 3

private members bill

Answer 3

Private Members Bill: introduced by MP’s and Lords who are not ministers – impact upon entire population

Less time is allocated to discussing these and they are introduced through a ballot system and is a far more complicated process to even get through

Question 4

private bill

Answer 4

Private Bills: usually introduced by charities or companies to give them powers which would conflict or change the law – they only impact a few individuals

Everyone involved will be notified and they can protest the existence of a bill

Question 5

hybrid bill

Answer 5

Hybrid Bills: combine both public and private bills – it would impact the public but have more significant impact on a few individuals

The bill passing the construction of the Channel Tunnel was a Hybrid Act

Question 6

secondary legislation

Answer 6

Whereas PL is created by government as a whole, debated and though through by committees – SL is somewhat different

It is created by ministers, who are given the powers by an (umbrella) act of parliament

The most common use of SI’s is to implement new drugs in the Misuse of Drugs Act (1976) or to otherwise make amendments which wouldn’t normally be possible

Means that rules can be made to update legislation without repealing and having issues and taking time

It also allows for emergency legislation to be enacted in hours or days rather than months or even longer

The obvious downsides to this speed however, is a lack of accountability and transparency