AC 1.1 - Processes of Law Making Flashcards
Outline the Formal Legislative Process (3 points)
Major legislations are usually made through Acts of Parliament, also known as Statutes
- Majority introduced by the Government
- Respective Government department gives instructions for the intended effect
What is a Green Paper? (2 points)
A consultative document on a topic which is the first draft for a proposal of a new law
- Interested parties are then invited to send feedback to the relevant departments for a full consideration of any needed changes
What is a White Paper? (3 points)
Firm Proposal of a new law from the government
- After consultation of a Green Paper ends, the government publish a White Paper
- These are also known as Bills
What is the role of the House of Commons? (3 points)
- A Bill only becomes an Act of Parliament if it successfully completes the necessary stages of parliament
- Most Bills are introduced in the HoC first. If it is voted against, then it is ended
- It will be debated on several times, about the issues of the policy and the specific details of the Bill
What is the role of the House of Lords? (3 points)
- The HoL acts as a check on the HoC
- All Bills go through both the HoL and HoC, and they can vote against proposed changes - which can help the HoC to amend
- The Parliaments Act 1911/1949 allows a Bills to be reintroduced and be processed again after being rejected by the HoL - meaning the HoL can only delay a law by 1 year
Describe the first three stages of Governmental Law Making (3 points)
- Consultation Stage: Government makes a draft of the Bill and receives feedback from senior officials and the public
- First Reading: Government announce the Bill by reading its title to one of the houses
- Second Reading: First main debating stage where members discuss the Bill followed by the first vote. Could be voted out at this stage
Describe the 4th and 5th stages of Governmental Law Making (2 points)
- Committee Stage: Small group of experts complete a detailed review, where the Bill is examined and amendments are suggested
- Report Stage: Amendments made are reported back to the House by the committee chairman. Members may vote on these amendments
Describe the last two (6th and 7th) stages of Governmental Law Making (2 points)
- Third Reading: Overall consideration of the Bill. Last opportunity to raise any issues. It is passed or rejected - final vote
- Royal Assent: Finally, if the Bill is approved by both houses, the ruling Monarch signs it off as a new law - an Act of Parliament
What is Statutory Interpretation? (1 point)
- Asking a judge from a higher court (e.g. Appeal or Supreme Court) to interpret words and phrases within a statute
How does Statutory Interpretation work? (3 points)
- In cases of ambiguity or vagueness, a higher court judge will be called upon for interpretation
- They carefully review the wording of the statute and the legal definitions of terms in order to elabourate on who it can apply to
- They have various rules (e.g. literal rule) to help them with the process
What is the case study for Statutory Interpretation? (2 points)
Whitely v Chappell (1868)
- Chappell was accused of ’impersonating any person entitled to vote’ in which they pretended to be someone on the voter’s list, but who had died
- The judge then interpreted the statute, and by using the literal rule, decided the defendant was not guilty as the person was not in-fact entitled to vote as they were dead
What is a Judicial Precedent? (2 points)
- If a judge finds that there has been previous decision by higher or same level court in a similar case, they must follow it
- If no precedent has been set then the decision made by that judge sets the original precedent which others should follow if they get a similar case
How does a precedent work? (2 points)
- The judge will need to look for important similarities between cases
- If there are no important differences, a previous decision on a similar case will act as a precedent
How can a Judicial Precedent become binding? (3 points)
If the precedent was made in a higher court then it is a binding precedent and must be followed
- Made in a lower court — can be overruled by higher courts
- Made in a court of same level — tend to follow it, can be overruled but the Supreme Court if deemed appropriate
What is the case study for Judicial Precedent? (4 points)
Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)
- The plaintiff found the remains of a snail in a bottle of ginger beer she was drinking and sued the manufacturer
- The law stated that reasonable care must be taken to avoid acts which may be likely to injure ’your neighbour’
- ’Your neighbour’ was deemed too vague, and Lord Atkin clarified that ‘neighbour’ - in law - referred to someone directly affected by your actions
- It was held that the manufacturer owed their customers a duty of care because of the ’neighbour law’, which was an original precedent and followed since 1932
