AC1.1

Question 1

Two main sources of the law:

Answer 1

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE JUDICIARY.

Question 2

Monarch

Answer 2

DOESN’T PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE IN LAW MAKING. THEY SIMPLY GIVE THE ROYAL ASSENT WHICH IS THEIR AGREEMENT TO THE NEW LAW.

Question 3

The House of Lords

Answer 3

• 800 peers
• 26 Church of England bishops and archbishops
• 349 conservatives and 198 labour

Question 4

The House of Commons

Answer 4

• 650 members of parliament
• MPs elected at a general election to represent a constituency

Question 5

A proposal for a new law is called a..

Answer 5

Bill. Must be agreed by both houses. Receive royal assent before they become acts of parliament.

Question 6

Green paper

Answer 6

Green papers are consultation documents produced by the government . They are available on the related department websites. The aim of the document is to allow people both inside and outside of parliament to give feedback on its policy or legislative proposals.

Question 7

White paper

Answer 7

White papers are policy documents produced by the government that set out their proposals for future legislation. Often published as command papers and may include a draft version of a bill that is being planned.

Question 8

First reading

Answer 8

Bill is formally introduced.

Question 9

Second reading

Answer 9

Debate main principles and vote to see if it will move onto the next stage.

Question 10

Committee stage

Answer 10

Detailed examination, amendments are made.

Question 11

Report stage

Answer 11

Further comments and amendments made.

Question 12

Third reading

Answer 12

Vote to see if it will be passed onto The House of Lords.

Question 13

The Lords

Answer 13

Formal induction - no debate.

Question 14

Royal assent

Answer 14

When the king formally agrees to make the bill into an act of parliament.

Question 15

Judicial precedent

Answer 15

Past decisions of judges creates a law for future judges to follow. An example of this would be Donoghue V Stevenson (1932) 2 friends went for lunch - drink had decomposing snail in it. Sued them and won the case.

Question 16

Exceptions to precedent: Distinguishing

Answer 16

Judge finds the facts in the case are different enough from the earlier one to allow him or her to reach a different decision and not have to follow the precedent of the earlier case.

Question 17

Exceptions to precedent: Overuiling

Answer 17

A court higher up in the hierarchy can decide that a legal decision in an earlier case is wrong and overturns

Question 18

Statutory interpretation

Answer 18

Judges can also make laws by the way they interpret the statuses or Acts of Parliament. Statutes are written laws so judges need to interpret the meaning of the words and apply them to the case they are judging.

Question 19

The literal rule

Answer 19

Judges use everyday meaning of the words in a statute. However, the problem with this is that words can have several meanings. For example, in cases involving drugs, different judges interpret the word ‘supply’ differently.

Question 20

The golden rule

Answer 20

Allows the court to modify the literal meaning to avoid absurd results.

Question 21

The mischief rule

Answer 21

Allows the court to enforce what the statute was intended to achieve rather than what the words actually say. For example, Licencing Act (1872) makes it an offence to be drunk in charge of a ‘carriage’ on the highway.