6 - Law making : Parliamentary law making Flashcards

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1
Q

the monarch

A

constituitional monarchy
she is bound to act on the advice of parliament

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2
Q

walter bagehot

A

identified 3 political rights which the constitutional monarch may freely excersise -
* to be consulted
* encoruage,and
* warn

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3
Q

house of commons

A

uk dividded into 650 constituencies. Mp represents each
able to override house of lords

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4
Q

house of lords

A

non-elected body
* 90 hereditary peers
* 640 life peers
* 26 Church of England Bishops

12 Most senior Judges – removed themselves from H of L and created Supreme Court

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5
Q

infromal law making

A

green and white papers

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6
Q

who may put forward green or white papers

A

governemnt departments, known as ministryies or departments

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7
Q

green paper

A

consultation document by the government putting forward proposals for reform and inviting suggestions

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8
Q

white paper

A

Document with firm proposals for how it will draft the law – this is for information not consultation
published by the government about ho they plan to refrom

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9
Q

public bill

A

Most Bills are Public Bills and affect either the whole country or large sections of it
for example, legal aid

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10
Q

private members bill

A

individual Mps put forward a bill
they can be inrtoduced through :
* ballot
* ten minute rule

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11
Q

ten-minute rule

A

where a backbencher, putting fforward a Private members bill, is able to make their case in a ten minute speech

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12
Q

private bills

A

designed to create a law taht will only affect individuals or corporations, not the whole community

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13
Q

hybrid bills

A

combination bteen public and private bills
Introduced by Government but if they become law they will only affect a particular person, organisation or place

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14
Q

Crossrail Act 2008

A

Underground rail links in London will affect the community living directly above it

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15
Q

formal law making -

A

bill drafted
first reading
second reading
comittee stage
report stage
third reading
same procedure in lords
royal assent

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16
Q

first reading

A

Name and main aims are read out – no discussion or vote

17
Q

second reading

A

Main debate
MP’s who wish to speak have to catch the Speakers Eye
At the end a verbal vote is taken
If close formal vote and MP go through a yes/no door

18
Q

Committee Stage

A

Committee Stage
16-50 MP examine the Bill. They sit on the Standing Committee and have a special interest in the subject
For finance Bills the whole House sits on the Committee

19
Q

Report Stage

A

Feedback to the House – amendments are debated and voted on
If there are no amendments then goes straight on to next stage

20
Q

Third Reading

A

Final vote although if it gets to this stage usually a formality. Will only be further debate if more than 6 MP’s request it

21
Q

law making in the House of Lords

A

The Bill goes through the whole process again in the opposite House. If they wish to make amendments then it starts all over again in the first House in a process know as Parliamentary Ping-Pong

22
Q

royal assent

A

last time it was refused was 1707

23
Q

advantages of parliamentary law making

A
  • Decided by elected representatives so democratic
  • Public can vote out any Government every 5 years so each Gov is accountable to the public
  • Can reform whole areas of law in one Act – Fraud Act 2006
  • Lengthy process means lots of scrutiny
24
Q

disadvantage of parliamentary law making

A
  • Doesn’t have time to deal with all necessary reforms
  • Bill’s usually take several months to become an Act
  • Little time for Private Members Bill’s
  • Acts are often long and complex
25
Q

influences on parliament

A

pressure groups
media
political
EU
law commision

26
Q

political inflluence

A

Parties publish their manifesto’s before elections to make their ideas for new laws and reforms clear
The Government (Con/lib coalition) will spend the 5 years putting their manifesto’s into action
The Queen’s speech (once a year) details which Acts they intend to pass during the year

27
Q

advanatges, disadvantages and examples of sucsess for poltical influences

A

+Each party has its own agenda ready before being elected so in theory everything is planned and ready to go
+The Government ahs the majority so will get most laws passed making the process efficient.

-A new government means that they may spend their time repealing or altering laws the previous government passed
-This can be costly and time consuming – not necessarily moving anything forward

the hunting act 2004

28
Q

Eu law

A

British Law has to bring into effect any new EU Laws
This is done through passing a specific new Act – Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and 1986
Most EU laws are enacted through delegated legislation

29
Q

advantages and advangtages of EU pressure

A

Advantages
Uniformity through member countries

Disadvantages
Some laws can be unpopular eg. Britain used imperial measures eg. Pounds, stone etc but under EU law we had to change to grams and kg.

30
Q

Public Opinion / Media

A

Government will often bow to public pressure if it is just before a general election!
Media brings public opinion to the attention of the Government
Free press allows them to criticise the government - 2009 expenses scandal
Media may dramatize / manipulate public opinion
Specific events may help form the law

31
Q

advantages and disadvantages of media

A

Positive
Dunblane Massacre 1996 – Snowdrop Campaign led to the banning of most handguns
Negative
Government may respond too quickly to public opinion – Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 – very poorly drafted

32
Q

pressure groups

A

May pressure the Government to change the law –
Gay Rights – In 2000 reduced the age of homosexual consent to 16
May cause the Government to reconsider passing laws
Justice and Liberty successfully campaigned to stop the Government restricting the right to trial by jury
may lobby mps

33
Q

types of pressure group

A

Sectional
Represent the particular views of a section of society – government may consult with them when new laws/reforms are being made
* Teachers Union
Causal
Promote a particular cause
* Greenpeace

34
Q

advantages and disadvantages of pressure groups

A

Advantages
Raise important issues for the public
Raise important issues for the Government

Disadvantages
They may been seen as imposing their “minority” ideas
Two pressure groups may have conflicting ideas – eg Fox Hunting

35
Q

parliamentray supremacy

A

Dicey in 19th Century defined the doctrine
* Parliament can legislate on anything
It can even change its own powers – Parliaments Act 1911/ 1949
* No Parliament is bound by another past or future
Some laws however are so entrenched that they will never be changed – Statute of Westminster 1931
* Nobody has the right to override Parliament
Even if the Act is incorrect/misguided it cannot be overruled – Railways Board v Pickin 1974

36
Q

limitations of parliamentary supremancy

A

There are limitations but these have been self-imposed and technically we could remove these limitations in the future – although this would be unlikely
* EU
* Human Rights Act 1998
* Devolution