AC 1.1 Flashcards
(24 cards)
What are the 3 areas that makes laws
Parliament, The Judiciary and the EU
How many ministers are in the government and how many sit in the cabinet
100 ministers, top 20 sit in the Cabinet
How many MP’s in the HOC , where are they elected from and when are they elected
650MP’s that are elected from constituencies once every 5 years
How many MP’s in the HOC and what are they known as
Approximately 720MP’s and they are knows as Peers
What did the Parliament Act do and when was it
Gave the HOL the power to veto a bill but only for a year and the Act was in 1990
What is the main job of the HOL
Scrutinize bills thoroughly and use its delaying powers to make the HOC think again
What is an example of when the HOL used its delaying powers
2004- The HOL delayed the bill to abolish hunting with hounds
What are the stages of how a law is made
Green paper
White Paper
First Reading
Second Reading
Committee stage
Report Stage
Third Reading
HOL
Amendments considered
Royal Assent
What is the Green and White Paper
GP- Gov set out reasons for creating a new law and put proposals forward- open to scrutiny
WP- Contains more detailed proposals for law
What happens during the First and second reading
FR- White paper is read out, Given a title and becomes a bill
SR- Debate on the general principles of the Bill
What happens during the Committee and report stage
CS- Small group of MP’s of HOL look at the bill in detail and go through the wording
RS- Bill moves to the whole house and Committee reports on any changes made
What happens during the third reading
The HOC take a final vote on the Bill
What happens in the HOL and during the Amendment stage
HOL- Bill is examined in the same way as the HOC and the HOL and decide to delay the bill from becoming law
Amendments- Any amendments made must be sent back to the HOC for further consideration
What is the Royal Assent stage
Bill goes to the monarch to be ‘Signed’- In practice this is just a formality, once the bill is signed it becomes an act of parliament
What is Judicial Precedent
The legal principle where courts follow previous decisions when deciding cases with similar facts and legal issues
What are the exceptions to Precedent
Distinguishing- Precedent is only binding if the legal principle that is involved is the same and if facts from both cases are similar
Overruling- Where a higher court states a legal ruling in an earlier case was wrong and decides to overturn it.
What is Statutory Interpretation
This is the process where judges interpret the statute
Why is there a need for judges to interpret statute
The meaning of the statute is unclear
Legislative Loopholes
Words are capable of two or more meanings
Printing or drafting errors
Technological advances
What is the Literal Rule
Judges should use the everyday meaning of the words in a statute however words may have more than one meaning
What is a case example of the Literal Rule
R V Maginnis
What is the golden rule
Allows the court to modify the literal meaning to avoid the literal rule from leading to an absurd result
What is a case example of the golden rule
Adler V George
What is the Mischief Rule
Allows the court to enforce what the statute was intended to achieve rather than what the words say
What is a case example of the Mischief Rule
Corkey V Carpenter
