AC 1.1

Question 1

three parts of Parliament

Answer 1

1. House of Commons – MPs, voted in via election
2. House of Lords – hereditary peers and some lifetime appointed
3. The Monarch – approves the final Bill

Question 2

Parliamentary law-making process

Answer 2

1. green paper – public consultation
2. white paper – formal proposals for reform
3. Bill – draft act which is presented to parliament

Question 3

eight stages of law making

Answer 3

1. first reading
2. second reading
3. committee stage
4. report stage
5. third reading
6. repeat in other houses
7. royal assent
8. act of Parliament

Question 4

1. first reading

Answer 4

-name of the Bill and its main aims are read out
-formal vote taken

Question 5

2. second reading

Answer 5

-main debate takes place followed by another vote

Question 6

3. committee stage

Answer 6

-chosen group of representatives look at the Bill, address any issues and suggest amendments

Question 7

4. report stage

Answer 7

-committee report back to full house, then vote on the proposed amendments

Question 8

5. third reading

Answer 8

-final vote to either pass or reject the Bill

Question 9

6. repeat in other houses

Answer 9

-all of the above stages are repeated in the other house

Question 10

7. royal assent

Answer 10

-Monarch signs the Bill
-symbolic stage

Question 11

8. act of parliament

Answer 11

-Bill becomes an Act of Parliament, commencement date is given

Question 12

Judicial precedent

Answer 12

-laws made by judges in the courts
-when there is no judicial precedent, judge must make a decision and set an original precedent

Question 13

exceptions of judicial precedent

Answer 13

-distinguishing – different situation
-overruling – higher court overturns a verdict

Question 14

Judicial processes

Answer 14

-make a judgement, forms the law and must be followed in future cases
-applied consistently
-lower courts must abide by decisions made by higher courts

Question 15

common law

Answer 15

-common to all cases, refers to laws made by judges

Question 16

Judicial processes: example

Answer 16

RvR (1992)
-husband had been convicted of attempting to rape wife
-he appealed on grounds that there was an old precedent that a husband couldn’t be guilty of raping his wife – marriage = contract gave ‘irrevocable consent’
-court overruled this appeal, couples = equal partners

Question 17

statutory interpretation

Answer 17

-word/phrase = unclear, judges in superior courts are called to decide its meaning
-various rules and aids to help them do this, can interpret in the way they see fit
-seen as laws being created by judiciary

Question 18

Statutory interpretation: example

Answer 18

Whiteley v Chappell (1868)
-defendant was charged with impersonating any person entitles to vote
-pretended to be a person on the voter’s list, person had died
-court rules that the defendant wasn’t guilty as a dead person isn’t ‘entitled to vote’

Question 19

3 interpretation rules

Answer 19

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

Question 20

1. literal rule

Answer 20

-judges should use the everyday meaning of words

Question 21

2. golden rule

Answer 21

-allows judges to modify the literal meaning to avoid absurd result

Question 22

golden rule: example

Answer 22

Adler v George (1964)
-under official secrets act (1920), offence to obstruct Her Majesty’s Forces ‘in the vicinity of’ a prohibited place
-Adler argued that he hadn’t broken the law, wasn’t ‘in the vicinity of’ he was in it

Question 23

3. mischief rule

Answer 23

-allows court to enforce what the statute was intended to achieve, rather than what the words actually say

Question 24

mischief rule: example

Answer 24

Corkery v Carpenter (1951)
-Licensing Act (1872), made it an offence to be drunk in charge of a ‘carriage’ on the highway
-found guilty even though he was in charge of the bicycle
-court argues that purpose of Act was to prevent people from using any form of transport while drunk