1.1 Process of Lawmaking

Question 1

What and who are the 3 parties involved in lawmaking process?

Answer 1

• the house of commons and lords, the monarch (Royal assent)
• Lords is made up of ‘peers’ and there are 800, 92 of which are hereditary, the commons are made up of MPs that represent their continuance and there are 650.

Question 2

What is the Green and White Paper?

Answer 2

Green Paper = initial proposal of a bill put forward to parliament to initiate discussion
White paper = a more detailed version is produced to put before parliament.

Question 3

Describe the stages of which a law is passed?

Answer 3

• First reading – introduces the bill and needs a vote to allow it to continue
• Second reading – the main principles are debated, and another vote is taken
• The committee stage – examined in detail by a committee made from MPs from various parties + report back to the commons
• The report stage – gives MPs opportunity to consider the verdict + vote on amendments
• Third reading – more debate but no changes allowed just vote either to pass or reject
• The lords – same process with the lords but if they make amendments it must return to the commons again
• The royal assent – monarchs’ agreement

Question 4

When was the last time royal assent was denied?

Answer 4

• 1707 when Queen Anne refused to have a Scottish militia

Question 5

Give an example of a law passed through parliament?

Answer 5

2003 Criminal justice act following the Macpherson Report + Ann Ming campaign

Question 6

What is judicial precedent?

Answer 6

Source of law making when previous decisions create law of future cases and creates consistency + fairness by what previous judges decided apon.

Question 7

What are the 2 exceptions to judicial precedent?

Answer 7

• distinguishing = when details are different to previous ones so the decision should be different
  Overruling = when a court higher up the hierarchy overrules a decision e.g. RvR 1992 – appealed centuries old law that a husband can’t be convicted for raping their wife.

Question 8

What are the 3 aspects of statutory interpretation?

Answer 8

• the literal law = when judges interpret wording differently
• The golden rule = the court can modify the literal meaning to avoid an absurd result
• The mischief rule = allows a court to enforce what the statue intended instead of what it literally says