law reform

Question 1

what are the 7 types of law reform

Answer 1

judicial change, parliament, law commission, pressure groups, royal commission, private members bills, public inquiries.

Question 2

what is judicial change

Answer 2

when law is changed after a specific case happens.

Question 3

what are 2 case examples of judicial change

Answer 3

R V R 1991 ghaidan v godin mendoza 2004

Question 4

what happens in R V R 1991

Answer 4

a man had non-consensual sex with his wife and the house of lords declared that this was rape. as a result the sexual offences act was changed to reflect this decision

Question 5

what happens in the case of Ghaidan v Godin Mendoza 2004

Answer 5

here the court held that homosexuals living in long term relationships should have the same tenancy rights as heterosexual couples.

Question 6

why is judicial change rare and should not regularly happen?

Answer 6

1- courts can not reform for every case they come across
2- people involved often don’t have the money to pursue the change
3- judges are unable to consult experts so they are wary to change law without proper research
4- breaks the separation of powers

Question 7

what is parliamentary change

Answer 7

legislation reflects parliaments ideas and can happen in many ways

Question 8

what are the 4 ways parliamentary change can happen and what happens in them

Answer 8

1- repeal: old laws are removed
2- creation: new laws are made to keep up with society
3- consolidation: when a statue is made issues can appear over time, new legislation can be made to correct and amend it.
4- codification: as law develops over time, a large amount of law can make the law confusing so codification bring together all the rules into one statue

Question 9

what 6 things can lead to parliamentary change?

Answer 9

events, the budget, the media, law reform agency’s, public opinion, European convention of human rights

Question 10

how do events influence parliamentary change and a case example

Answer 10

unexpected events can lead to an urgent need for reform.
E.G. 9/11; led to the UK tightening terrorism laws and the creation of the anti-terrorism, crime and security act 2011.

Question 11

how can the budget influence parliamentary change

Answer 11

each year the house of commons is given a budget statement. once the budget is agreed the parliament makes changes based on the budget.

Question 12

how can the media influence parliamentary change with a case example.

Answer 12

issues of public concern can be highlighted creating moral panic and can force the parliament to make change.
CASE : Sarah’s law- Sarah Payne was murdered by a known paedophile and her parents did not know he was in the area. as a result the sex offender disclosure scheme was created so that people could see if and where sex offenders were living in the area.

Question 13

how can law reform agency’s influence parliamentary change

Answer 13

several agency’s that put pressure on parliament to change the law.
these include: law commission, pressure groups, royal commissions and public inquiry’s

Question 14

how can public opinion influence parliamentary change with an example.

Answer 14

members of the public can right to MPs. if the MP agrees they can introduce a proposal. e.g. the dangerous dogs act 1991 was introduced due to public concern.

Question 15

how can the European convention of human rights influence parliamentary change with a case example

Answer 15

changes prompted by the ECHR can also prompt parliamentary law reform.
e.g. Goodwin V UK- AS A REWULT OF THIS CASE BEING HELD IN THE ECHR THE UK PARLIAMENT PASSED THE GENGER RECOFGNOTION ACT 2004.

Question 16

what is a pressure group

Answer 16

an organisation that seeks to influence the law based on the views and opinions of the group

Question 17

what are the 2 types of pressure grouops

Answer 17

interest and cause

Question 18

What is an interest group

Answer 18

a group of people that are concerned with the interests of the members, the membership is limited to a specific occupation, motivated by self interest .
E.G. national teachers league

Question 19

what is a cause group

Answer 19

a group with shared attitudes (e.g. poverty) they seek to advance particular ideas, membership is open to all, motivated by moral issues
E.G. society for the protection of birds

Question 20

what are some of the methods that pressure groups can use

Answer 20

letter writing, protests, lobbying MPs, petitions.

Question 21

what are the advantages to pressure groups

Answer 21

• encourage ordinary people to get involved in politics.
• facilitate public discussion
• there specialist knowledge can inform government
• enhances the article 10 freedom of expression
• raises public awareness

Question 22

what are the disadvantages to pressure groups

Answer 22

• only provide a 1 sides argument
• if the group is small the views can be distorted
• they are not elected but can still influence government.

Question 23

what is the law commission

Answer 23

a full time law reform body, looks into and seeks opinion on possible reforms drafting them into a bill to give to parliament `

Question 24

what is the main 2 piece of legislation for the law commission

Answer 24

the law commission Act 2009and 1965

Question 25

what are some examples of the success of the law commission

Answer 25

- within 10 years it had a success rate of 85% - occupiers liability act 1984 - unfair contract terms act 1977 criminal justice act 2015- jury conduct in trials

Question 26

examples of the failure of the law commission

Answer 26

1975-2000 only 50% were considered - 1990- none were enacted

Question 27

what review looked into the success and failure of the law commission

Answer 27

Halliday review 2003

Question 28

what did the Halliday review 2003 find and an example

Answer 28

- found the main problem was the governments inability to accept the proposals. e.g. - the review found that the law commissions proposal for reform of the land lords light of distress on the tenants property published in 1991 took 16 years for it to be part of law.

Question 29

what is the law commissions aims like in present day with examples.

Answer 29

- now aims to simplify law rather than crating new law. E.G. criminal justice act 2003, serious crime act 2007, fraud act 2006, coroners and justice act 2009

Question 30

what is an advisory committee

Answer 30

a temporary law reform body set up to research and consult laws that need reform after a big event E.G. the Hillsborough disaster

Question 31

what are the types of advisory committee

Answer 31

royal commission, public enquiry, other committee

Question 32

what is the royal commission with example

Answer 32

A temporary committee set up by the gov to investigate a certain part of law. E.G. Philips commission- resulted in the police and criminal evidence act 1984

Question 33

what is a public enquiry with an example

Answer 33

these are set up usually after a specific event to examine possible changes of law as a result of some failing. E.G. Stephen Lawrence enquiry- made after the murder of Lawrence and looked into the institutionalised racism of the police force.

Question 34

what are the other committees and an example

Answer 34

these are set up at the request of a particular government minister to investigate and report ion a specific area of law E.G. Woolf report- investigated the civil procedure and produced the access to justice act 1999

Question 35

what are the disadvantages to law reform bodies

Answer 35

- law commission is the only full time reform body and it cannot cope with demand - there is no obligation for the government to consult the law commission or other commissions - the government can ignore any recommendations made by the reform body's - may be insufficient funding to bring the recommendations into place - the temporary committees are disbanded after there report so take no part in the law making process so may be an waste of expertise