Section 3. Law - making Flashcards

Question

What are the disadvantages of the legislative process?

Answer 1

- The legislative process is criticized as undemocratic due to the unelected House of Lords, undemocratic royal approval, and MPs often being bound to ‘take the whip’ rather than voting according to their conscience or constituents' interests. - Due to government and parliament's limited capacity, reforms can’t deal with all reforms proposed. For instance, the law on non-fatal offences like assaults awaits reform. - The legislative process can span months. E.g., the Consumer Rights Act 2015 took 14 months. Emergency laws, however, like those addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, can swiftly pass - Parliamentary sovereignty hinders the removal or amendment of poorly drafted or outdated laws like the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, meaning additional legislation is required for change.

Answer 2

Allows government to make changes to a law without needing to push through a completely new Act of Parliament

Answer 3

The authority given to ministers to issue declarations in the original act

Answer 4

- Orders in Council - Statutory instruments - By-laws

Answer 5

- They're made by the King and the Privy Council - They give the PM and other leading members of the government the power to make laws without going through Parliament - E.g. Making law in times of national emergency

Answer 6

- Rules and regulations made by government ministers under the authority of an enabling act - E.g. Police Codes of Practice, such as 'stop and search'

Answer 7

Laws made by local authorities that only apply to that specific area

Answer 8

-Checks on the enabling act -Negative resolution -Affirmative resolutions -Supper-affirmative resolution -Scrutiny committees

Answer 9

- This is where the original act will set out what ministers can and can't do if delegated legislation is required in the future - Parliament can revoke these powers at any time

Answer 10

Means that the statutory instrument will become law unless rejected by Parliament within 40 days

Answer 11

Means that a statuary instrument must be either approved, annulled or withdrawn (Can't be amended)

Answer 12

- This is when DL is made under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 - Parliament is given greater controls in this area as ministers are given very wide ranging powers

Answer 13

- They can only scrutinise the technicalities of statuory instruments, not policy - They can refer any matters arising back to Parliament but can't make any changes

Answer 14

-It can be said to be effective as the committee are able to check a number of statutory instruments -However, due to the number of statutory instruments made each year, the committee are unable to thoroughly check all of them

Answer 15

-When this procedure is required there will be some debate in parliament and it will usually be used for very important and potentially controversial matters -However, it is a time consuming procedure and it relies on time bing allocated to debate

Answer 16

-As there are so many statutory instruments, it is likely that only a few will be looked at in detail. -This procedure is considered to have limited effect as there is no strict requirement to look at statutory instruments made under this procedure

Answer 17

-Procedural ultra vires -Substantive ultra vires -Wednesbury unreasonableness

Answer 18

- A person with sufficient standing or interest in the case - Can be challenged by the judicial review on the ground its ultra vires

Answer 19

- Delegated legislation has gone beyond the powers given by Parliament in the enabling act - If this is found, legislation/decision will be void and of no effect

Answer 20

-It is ultra vires because the correct procedure set out by the enabling act has not been followed - E.g. Aylesbury mushrooms case (1972) - His failure to consult the mushroom growers’ association meant that an order setting up a training board was invalid as it was against the interests of mushroom growers generally

Answer 21

- This is when a rule making body has no substantive power under the empowering act to make the rules in question e.g. acting beyond what is authorised - E.g. R v Home Secretary, ex parte Fire brigades union (1995)

Answer 22

-This is when a decision is so unreasonable (or irrational) that no reasonable body or authority would ever consider imposing it - E.g. R v Swindon NHS trust (2006)

Answer 23

-It is positive that an individual person or body has the ability to challenge a piece of delegated legislation or a decision made by a public body

Answer 24

- Likely that a challenge will be made against a govt. department or public body, which are likely to have greater resources and funding to defend the legislation or decision - An action will have to be launched within 3 months of the decision having been made, and there will be no state funding or legal aid available for the challenge - A court doesn't have the power to strike down a piece of legislation due to the principle of parliamentary supremacy

Answer 25

- Detailed law - Expert knowledge - Local knowledge - Consultation

Answer 26

- Parliament doesn't have time to deal with all the detail needed - Using this means parliament has control through the use of enabling acts

Answer 27

- Parliament may not have the necessary technical expertise or knowledge required to draw up the most effective laws e.g. health and safety regulations - Thought to be better if parliament debate on the main principles thoroughly, but leave the detailed to be filled in by those who have expert knowledge of it

Answer 28

- For by-laws, local councils know their own areas and can decide which areas need drinking bans or what local parking regulations there should be - Would be impossible for Parliament to deal with all the local requirements of all cities, towns, etc. in the country

Answer 29

- Important for rules on technical matters - Ministers can have the benefit of consultation before having regulations drawn up

Answer 30

-Time saving -Allows consultation -Allows quick law making -Access to expertise -Easy to amend

Answer 31

- Parliaments doesn't have time to consider and debate every small detail of complex regulations - Making such regulations through DL saves time

Answer 32

- Can have the benefit of further consultation before regulations are drawn up - Particularly important for rules on technical matters

Answer 33

- An act of Parliament can take time and in a emergency parliament may not be able to pass law quickly enough - Orders in council can be made very quick to deal with disasters in threats

Answer 34

- Modern society has become very complex and technical so makes it impossible for members of parliament to have all the knowledge needed to draw up laws on complex areas - By using DL, the necessary experts can be consulted

Answer 35

- Delegated legislation can be easily amended or revoked without having to go back to parliament - Useful when monetary limits have to change yearly e.g. minimum wage - Can respond to new or unforeseen situations by introducing a statutory instrument

Answer 36

- Undemocratic - Sub-delegation - Large volume and lack publicity - Difficult wording

Answer 37

- DL take slaw making away from the democratically elected HofCs and allows non-elected people to make law - However, this criticism can't be made of by-laws made by local authorities since these are elected bodies and accountable to the local citizens

Answer 38

- Law making authority is handed down another level - Causes comments that much of our law is made by civil servants and merely ‘rubber stamped’ by the minister of that department

Answer 39

- The large volume of DL gives rise to criticism since it makes it difficult to discover what the present law is - This problem is aggravated by a lack of publicity, as much DL is made in private and passed through parliament without debate

Answer 40

Complex and obscure wording that can lead to difficulty in understanding what the law means

Answer 41

- Where judges give a meaning to the words of an act of parliament when they are delivering their judgement in court

Answer 42

1. The literal rule 2. The golden rule 3. The mischief rule

Answer 43

This rule developed in the early 19th century and has been the main rule applied every since then. Using this rule, a judge will give words their plan, ordinary or literal (dictionary) meaning, even if the result is not very sensible

Answer 44

- By Lord Esther in R v judge of the city of London court (1892) - He said: “If th words of an act are clear then you must follow them even though they lead to a manifest absurdity. The court has nothing to do with the question whether the legislature has committed an absurdity”

Answer 45

- In Whiteley v Chappell (1868) - The defendant was charged under an act that made it an offence to impersonate ‘any person entitled to vote’ -The defendant had pretended to be a person whose name was on the voters’ list, but who has died -The court held that the defendant was not guilty since a dead person is not, in the literal meaning of the words ‘entitled to vote’

Answer 46

-A shopkeeper had a flick knife displayed in his shop window with a price tag on it. -The restriction of offensive weapons act 1959 made it an offence to ‘offer’ such flick-knives for sale. -In ordinary contract law, goods on display in shops are not ‘offers’ in the technical sense but an ‘invitation to treat’, preparatory to a customer making an offer -Lord Justice Parker applied the literal rule of statutory interpretation to the offence and found that the shopkeeper had committed no offence

Answer 47

Words in an act are given their ordinary, natural, dictionary meaning

Answer 48

A modification of the literal rule as it starts by looking at the literal meaning of words but the judge is then allowed to avoid an interpretation that would lead to an absurd result

Answer 49

- Narrow approach where there are only a couple of ways in which the judge can interpret words, so they will choose the meaning that makes the most sense - The wider approach allows the judge to be more flexible and possibly add in words to avoid an absurd outcome.

Answer 50

- Adler v George (1964) - “in the vicinity”, one meaning, that means ‘near ‘, the other meaning would include actually being in the area itself

Answer 51

Re Sigsworth (1935)

Answer 52

The judge added to the words to include ‘unless they had filled the victim to inherit their wealth’

Answer 53

-This rule gives a judge more discretion when interpreting legislation than the previous 2 rules. -The definition of the rule comes from Heydon’s case (1584), where it was said that there were 4 points the court should consider.

Answer 54

1. What was the common law before the making of the act 2. What was the mischief and defect for which the common law did not provide 3. What was the remedy of the parliament bath resolved and appointed to cure the disease of the commonwealth 4. The true reason of the remedy

Answer 55

-Seen in Smith v Hughes (1960). There was a disagreement over using the mischief rule or the literal rule in Royal college or Nursing v DHSS (1981)

Answer 56

The courts look to see what is the purpose of the law passed by Parliament

Answer 57

R v Registar-General, ex parte Smith (1990)

Answer 58

- Follows wording of Parliament - Prevents unelected judge making law - Makes the law more certain - Easier to predict how the judges will interpret the law

Answer 59

- Not ALL Acts are perfectly drafted - Have more than one meaning - Can lead to unfair or unjust decisions

Answer 60

- Respects the words of parliament - Allows the judge to choose the most sensible meaning - Avoids the worst problems of the literal rule

Answer 61

- Can only be used in limited situations - Not possible to predict when the courts will use it - It is a 'feeble parachute'

Answer 62

- Deals with mischief Parliament was trying to deal with - Fills in the gap in the law - Produces a 'just' result

Answer 63

- Risk of judicial law making - Not as wide as the purposive approach - Limited to looking back at the old law - Can make the law uncertain

Answer 64

- Leads to justice in individual cases - Allows for new developments in technology - Avoids absurd decisions

Answer 65

- Difficult to find Parliament's intention - Allows judges to make law - Leads to uncertainty in the law

Answer 66

- The ejusdem generis rule - Expressio unius - Noscitur a sociis

Answer 67

- General words that follow a list are limited to the same kind (be related) - e.g. Apples, oranges, grapes (specific words), and other seeded fruit (general words). Would a pineapple be part of this? Yes, because it fits the seeded fruit list

Answer 68

- The express mention of one thing excludes others - E.g. Apples, oranges, and grapes. Would the lemon be part of this? No, because it isn’t one of the specific words

Answer 69

- This means that if the general words at the end of a list clearly state what something is, then it will exclude anything else - E.g. Tomatoes, grapes and other fruit that grows on a vine

Answer 70

- Explanations within the act itself that make it clearer - E.g. the long title, the short title, and the preamble (if any)

Answer 71

Harrow London Borough Council v Shah (1999)

Answer 72

- The words/instructions/notes etc. are included in the act. - They’re easy to refer to and by and large clarify meaning and understand of the Act and its purpose

Answer 73

With rules around words, this might lead to a decision which appears unfair, but if the words are arranged in a particular way, there is no choice but to interpret them as they’re written

Answer 74

Outside the Act, which can help explain the meaning of words in an Act

Answer 75

- Pepper v Hart (1993) - Cheeseman v DPP (1990)

Answer 76

- Dictionaries - published at the time the Act was passed - Hansard - the official record of everything said in Parliament

Answer 77

- Available for everybody to consult - Online - Can clear up what the original intent was in records of the bill’s discussion in Parliament

Answer 78

- Statements made in the debate may not be clear - Lawyers can spend a long time reading back over debates. This costs lots of money

Answer 79

Problems in the current law are identified and in many cases - A draft bill is included as a suggested alternative

Answer 80

- Law Commission reports are only available for limited areas of law. - Any of the proposals or draft bills might have been rejected by government so that Parliament’s intention differs from the report

Answer 81

Legislation must be read and given effect in a way which is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (Doesn't include areas where human rights are not involved)

Answer 82

Mendoza v Ghaidan (2002)

Answer 83

Stand by the decision in the court

Answer 84

-When the judge gives the final decision - It’s extremely important that the judge is absolutely clear about how and why they’ve reached that decision as this will be binding on any future cases of a similar nature unless, in the meantime, Parliament decides to step in and make a new law

Answer 85

-If the ratio is given by a judge in a higher court, particularly an appeal court, it will carry great authority and must be followed by all lower level judges in later cases

Answer 86

- Where there is a particularly important or complicated point of law, more than one judge may want to explain the legal reasoning that led to a decision -This can cause problems in later cases as each judge mag have had a different reason for their decision, so there will be more than one ratio decidendi -It will be for lawyers and judges in later cases to choose which ratio they prefer and which to use in court

Answer 87

1. State decisis 2. Ratio decidendi 3. Obiter dicta

Answer 88

- The judges notes that give suggestions about future cases

Answer 89

-When looking at a past judgement, its to divide the ratio decidendi from the Obiter dicta, as the judgement is usually in a continuous form, without any headings specifying what is meant to be part of the ratio decidendi and what is not -Lawyers and judges dealing with later similar cases have to make their own decisions as what the ratio of a decision is and what forms the Obiter

Answer 90

-R v Howe (1987) -The House of Lords decided that the defence of duress was not available to a charge of murder -They also expressed the opinion that duress is not a defence to a charge of attempted murder. This opinion was Obiter dicta, as Howe was not charged with attempted murder and it was directly relevant to the facts of the case

Answer 91

-R v Gotts (1992) -The House of Lords followed the Obiter statement in R v Howe and, in their ratio decidendi, ruled that duress cannot be a defence to a charge of attempted murder

Answer 92

Supreme Court Court of appeal (civil division) Divisional courts High court County court

Answer 93

Supreme Court Court of appeal (criminal division) Queen’s bench divisional court Crown court Magistrates court

Answer 94

-This is a precedent from an earlier case that must be followed if the decision was made by a court that is senior to (or in some cases the same level as) the court hearing the later case -E.g. a precedent set by the court of appeal civil division must be followed by all lower courts in the hierarchy and will generally be followed by later cases heard by the court of appeal -This follows the principle of stare decisis

Answer 95

A precedent that is not binding on a court, but the judge may consider it, decide that it is a correct principle and be persuaded that it should be followed

Answer 96

-Courts lower in the hierarchy -Decisions of the judicial committee of the privy council -Statements made Obiter dicta -A dissenting judgement -Decisions of courts in other countries

Answer 97

- R v R (1991) - The the House of Lords agreed with and followed the same reasoning as the court of appeal in deciding that a man could be guilty of raping his wife. In this case, the judgement of the court of appeal was persuasive and the House of Lords followed it

Answer 98

- This court is not part of the court hierarchy in England and Wales and so it’s decisions are not binding but, since many of it’s judges are also members of the Supreme Court, their judgements are treated with respect and may often be followed. - E.g. the law on remoteness of damages in the law of negligence in tort and the decision made by the privy council in the case of the Wagon Mound (No.1) (1961). - In later cases, courts in England and Wales followed this decision. This means that law made as a result of a case from another country can have an effect on the law in England and Wales

Answer 99

-Until October 2009, the senior court in the UK legal system was the House of Lords. This court was then abolished and replaced by the Supreme Court. -The lower courts have to follow decisions of the Supreme Court, and also decisions by the House of Lords that have not been changed by the Supreme Court

Answer 100

-The main debate about the Supreme Court (and previously the House of Lords) is the extent to which it should follow it’s own past decisions -In London street tramways v London country (1898), the House of Lords decided that certainty in the law by following a past decision was more important than preventing individual hardship -It was completely bound by its own past decisions unless the decision had been made per I curial, that is, ‘in error’ -In the middle of the twentieth century this approach was not felt to be satisfactory, as the law could not alter to meet changing social conditions and opinions, nor could any possible ‘wrong’ decisions be changed except by legislation -It was felt that the highest court of appeal should have greater flexibility in it’s decision making

Answer 101

-In 1966, the Lord chancellor issued a practice statement announcing a change to the rule in London street tramways v London county council which allowed them to depart from a previous decision when it appears right to do so -This approach was confirmed by practice directions 3 and 4 issued by the Supreme Court in 2009

Answer 102

- British Railways board v Herrington (1972), which involved the law on the duty of care owed to a child trespasser (first major use) -In the Herrington case, the Lords held that social and physical conditions had changed since 1929, and the law should also change, allowing the injured child trespasser’s claim

Answer 103

- From October 2009, the constitutional reform act 2005 transferred the House of Lords’ powers to the Supreme Court -Initially, it was not clear if this included the use of the practice statement - In Austin v London borough of Southwark (2010), which was about tenancy law, the Supreme Court confirmed that the power to use the practice statement had been transferred to it

Answer 104

R v Howe R v Gotts

Answer 105

- Where a case has been decided by a majority of judges (for example, two to one in the court of appeal), the judge who disagreed will also have explained the reasons for reaching that decision -If that case goes on appeal to the Supreme Court, or if there is a later case on the same point that goes to the Supreme Court, it is possible that the Supreme Court may prefer a dissenting judgement and decide the case in the same way -The dissenting judgement has persuaded the higher court to follow it. - E.g. Lord denning’s dissenting judgement in Candler v Crane, Christmas & co (1951) which was the later upheld in Hedley Byrne v Heller (1963)

Answer 106

Bazley v Curry (1999), a Canadian case which was considered in Lister v Hesley Hall Ltf (2001

Answer 107

- If the point of law arising in a case has never been decided before, then whatever the judge decides will form a new precedent for future cases to follow; that is an original precedent - As there are no past cases for the judge to base the decision on previous cases that are the closest in principle will be considered with similar rules used. This way of arriving at a judgement is called reasoning by analogy. The judge will try to say something specific about the case being dealt with based on the fact that it is ‘like’ another example in a certain way. - E.g. Hunter v Canary Wharf where a principle from Alfred’s case of 1610 was used by Lord Hoffman

Answer 108

-Following -Overruling -Reversing -Distinguishing

Answer 109

-When a judge considers a precedent is relevant to the case, and it is binding, then the precedent must be followed

Answer 110

-This is where a court, in a later case, states that the precedent decided in an earlier case is wrong -Overruling may occur when a higher court changes, or overrules, a decision made in an earlier case by a lower court, such as the Supreme Court overruling a decision of the court of appeal -Can also happen when the Supreme Court uses the practice direction, as restated by practice directions 3 and 4 2009, to overrule a past decision of it’s own

Answer 111

The House of Lords ruled that Hansard (the record of what is said in parliament) could be consulted when trying to decide what certain words in an act of parliament meant. This decision overruled the earlier decision in David v Johnson (1979), when the House of Lords had held that it could not consult Hansard

Answer 112

- This is where a court higher in the hierarchy, in an appeal, overturns the decision of a lower court on appeal in the same case - For example, the court of appeal may disagree with a ruling of the high court and come to a different view of the law - In this situation it reverses the decision made by the high court. The decision of the appeal court will then be substituted for that of the lower court - E.g. Sweet v Parsley (1970), when the House of Lords reversed the decision of the divisional court of the Queen’s bench division

Answer 113

- This is a method that can be used by a judge to avoid following a past decision, high would otherwise have to be followed - Means that the judge finds that the material facts of the present case are sufficiently different to allow a distinction to be drawn between the present case and the previous case is not binding

Answer 114

R v Brown (1993) and R v Wilson (1996)

Answer 115

The House of Lords decided, by a majority, that consent to suffer injuries in the course of homosexual wasp-masochistic activities is no defence to charges of s 20 OAPA 1861 or to charges of actual bodily harm

Answer 116

The defendants were a married couple and the defence of consent was allowed by the court of appeal to charges of actual bodily harm

Answer 117

Balfour v Balfour (1919) and Merritt v Merritt (1971)

Answer 118

It was decided that the claim could not succeed because there was no intention between them to create legal relations; there was merely a domestic arrangement between a husband and wife and so there was no legally binding contract

Answer 119

A different decision was reached and the court of appeal distinguished the otherwise binding decision of Balfour. Although the parties were husband and wife, the agreement was made, in writing, and after they had separated. This was different as it was meant as a legally enforceable contract

Answer 120

-Political influences -Media -Pressure groups -Lobbying

Answer 121

-When there is a general election, all the political parties publish a list of their policies and suggest reforms and new laws they would introduce if they were elected as the next government. -This is called rhe party’s manifesto and it is one of the ways in which each party tries to persuade people to vote for them -The manifesto can include policies on issues such as finance, education, transport and law and order

Answer 122

The promise in the Labour Party manifesto before the 1997 election to ‘bring rights home’. This was achieved by the government when the Human rights act 1998 was passed by parliament

Answer 123

-Where an issue is given a high profile on Tv, in newspaper’s or through social media, it will be brought to the attention of the public and politicians and may add to the weight of public opinion -The media are able to criticise government policy or demand government action. This can be especially effective in a general election campaign, where every political part is keen to gain public support -Members of the public can make their views known by contacting media sources or by posting material on social media -Government regularly monitors social media to judge public opinion -Government regularly monitors social media to judge public opinion -Government also uses focus groups to gauge opinion on an issue or their overall popularity

Answer 124

-The snowdrop campaign successfully used the media to campaign for handguns to be banned -When ‘dangerous dogs’ attacked a number of adults and children, this led to the passing of the dangerous dogs act 1991. This act was subsequently considered to be a poorly drafted piece of legislation as it was introduced as a ‘knee jerk reaction’ to media publicity

Answer 125

These are groups of people who campaign as they have a special interest in a subject or cause. They can bring their interest or cause to the attention of the general public and government. This can be done by lobbying a government minister or department responsible for an issue

Answer 126

1. Sectional groups which represent the interests of a group of people and often represent workers’ groups or professions. E.g. the law society for solicitors interests, British medical association represents doctors, trades unions for workers in different types of jobs 2. Cause groups for a particular cause e.g. environmental groups such as Greenpeace, animal welfare groups, human rights groups, such as amnesty

Answer 127

-The passing of the hunting act 2004, which banned hunting foxes with dogs, was due to the efforts of the league against cruel sports -sometimes they will campaign against a proposed change to the law. This was seem when, in 1997, government attempts to restrict the right to trial by jury were opposed by the law society and bad council

Answer 128

This full time body was set up by the law commission act 1965. It consists of: -A chairperson -A high court judge -4 other law commissioners who are experts in certain areas of laws There are also researchers and draftsmen who prepare proposed bills. The role of the commission is to consider areas of law that need reform. His role is set out in s3 of the law commissions act: -To review areas of law -Where possible, to codify or consolidate areas of law -To repeal old unnecessary law, and -Where possible to simplify and modernise law

Answer 129

1. The commission researches the area of law needing reform 2. It publishes a consultation paper, seeking views on possible reform from lawyers, academics and anyone with an interest in the area under investigation. The consultation paler will suggest options for reform 3. Following responses to the consultation paper, the commission will then draw up proposals for reform presented in a researched report. There will often be a draft bill attached to the report which can be considered by parliament

Answer 130

-There remain in force many old, unnecessary and irrelevant statutes. In order to deal with these, the law commission investigates whether they are still required and will prepare a repeals bill for parliament to consider for those that are unnecessary or irrelevant -By 2015 there had been 19 statute law (repeals) acts, and the whole of 3000 old acts had been repealed

Answer 131

-In some areas of law there a number of statutes which set out a small part of the total law. The aim of consolidation is to draw all the existing provisions together in one act to make the law more accessible -The law commission produces about 5 consolidation bills each year. However, consolidation is not always successful -For example, for many years the law on sentencing practice and procedure was contained in: -The powers of criminal courts (sentencing) act 2000 -The criminal justice and courts services act 2000 -The criminal justice act 2003, and -The legal aid, sentencing and punishment of offenders act 2012 -The sentencing act 2020 has replaced sentencing practice and procedure from these acts, as set out in codification

Answer 132

-This involves bringing together all the law, both statutory and judicial precedent, on a topic into one single law -Again, the intention is to make the law more understandable, consistent and easier to find -The law commission worked on producing a sentencing code so that all the law on sentencing adult and young offenders is in one document instead of all the acts referred to above -This was achieved by the passing of the sentencing act 2020. -The sentencing code is concerned with sentencing procedure and does not introduce any new law or change any sentences -It will apply to all offenders convicted of an offence after 1st October 2020

Answer 133

-Although the law commission has not achieved it’s original idea of codification of many areas of law, it has been successful in some areas. After it was established, about 85% of it’s proposals were enacted by parliament -These included the unfair contract terms act 1977, the supply of goods and services act 1982 and the occupiers’ liability act 1984 -Following this, however, only about 50% of it’s suggestions have become law due to lack parliamentary time and lack of interest by parliament in technical reform. The law commission act 2009 tried to deal with the issue of non-acceptance of it’s reports by requiring the Lord chancellor to tell parliament every year why the government has decided not to implement any of the previous year’s crop of law commission proposals. -The commission’s annual report of 2017-18 showed that there were 12 reports awaiting response from govt. who also rejected about 1 in 6 of the law commissions reports

Answer 134

-Each political party has it’s proposals for law reform ready and published in a manifesto during an election campaign so that, if they are elected as the government, the electorate knows what they wish to do in future parliamentary sessions to achieve their aims -If the govt. has a majority of seats in the House of Commons, virtually every one of their policy proposals will be passed. This can be said to make the law making process popular with the majority of the population -By publishing manifestos, the public know before an election what the broad proposals of each political party are, and have a choice as to which set of proposals and law reforms they would wish to see put in place -Proposed changes to laws will be debated in parliament and Improvements to initial proposals can be suggested and included -Members of the House of Lords have expertise in a wide range of topics. Suggestions made by the Lords to alter government proposals carry considerable weight and authority, and are generally non political

Answer 135

-If a different party is elected in a general election from the previous governing party, they may decide to repeal or alter some of the laws that the previous govt. passed. This is because their policies are likely to be different from the previous govt. . Such changes of policy can be costly, open to criticism and lead to piecemeal reform of laws -If the govt. has a large majority of seats in the House of Commons, they can force through their policy proposals, ignoring criticism from opposition -If the govt. only has a small majority, it may be difficult or impossible to achieve changes to the law or their manifesto commitments -Suggestions to alter or improve the proposals made by experts in the House of Lords do not have to be accepted by the commons or the govt. -If a crisis occurs, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the government’s focus will be to take measures to deal with that crisis, which may differ from their manifesto commitments

Answer 136

-The media can raise awareness of public concern of an issue with government- for example, damage to the environment. Government may have greater willingness to act on a media campaign if they see it is popular -The public can use the media to raise concern about issues and individual incidents, such as the Dunblane massacre and, more recently, terrorist related attacks. Individuals are much more prepared to use social media to raise concerns and voice opinions -The media can inform and raise public awareness, which is essential to encourage government to form policy, to act and legislate. Government is ultimately responsible to the electorate and, especially before an election, they will fear losing public support if they are not seen to be responding to an issue of public concern

Answer 137

-While radio and television channels are required to remain politically neutral, this is not the case with newspapers, which may be willing to promote inaccurate individual views and campaigns, and may not have wide public support. Some newspapers give support to a specific political party and regularly promote their views -Newspapers are commercial businesses and may be prepared to sensationalise an issue to expand their readership. This can be seen as parts of the media manipulating the news and creating public opinion -There is no regulation on the expression of views on social media. Any views expressed may be inaccurate or have limited public support -Even if an issue appears to have wide public support, there is no guarantee that government will act on it

Answer 138

-Pressure groups have experts in their membership, or can employ experts, to effectively argue their cause -There are many pressure groups with different aims and issues to promote. A wide range of issues can be drawn to the attention of government -Pressure groups often raise important issues. Environmental groups have made the government much more aware of the damage being done to the environment from greenhouse gases and other pollutants

Answer 139

-Pressure groups may seek to impose their ideas on the public or on government, even where there is limited public support. For example, when trades unions call strike action involving a public service, this can cause disruption for the general public who are unlikely to support the cause -Sometimes two pressure groups who may have conflicting interests and will campaign for opposing actions. For example, when the ban against cruel sports wanted is banned, but the countryside alliance wanted it to continue

Answer 140

-The law commission uses legally qualified commissioners to investigate, who are experts in their field. Their reports are thoroughly researched and recommendations for reform are fully justified. Draft bills accompany their reports so there is no need for delay in consideration of the recommendations by parliament -It is politically independant and has the aim of improving the law- it does not get involved in matters of public policy. It reports to parliament, not the government, thereby maintaining it’s independence -If parliament accepts a recommendation to codify an area of law, it becomes easier for lawyers and the public to understand and apply -Many old, unnecessary and irrelevant laws are removed from the statute book

Answer 141

-Governments are reluctant to find parliamentary time to consider and debate ‘pure’ law issues. As a result, parliament has to wait for government to accept a law commission report and act on it -Parliament tends to concentrate on debating matters or broad policy, such as health and education, rather than on ‘purely’ legal issues where there is limited poplar support -Govt. is not bound to accept law commission reports or implement any recommendations, either fully or in part. For example, the law commission recommended in 1993 reforms for the non fatal offences in criminal law and, in 1998, to the civil law of negligence but neither area law has been changed -The govt. is not bound to consult the law commission before bringing any changes in the law to parliament- e.g. the commission was not consulted on changes to sentencing practice and procedures before any of the 4 acts were introduced on this issue

Section 3. Law - making Flashcards

(165 cards)