AC 1.1

• How does the government make laws?

  Via the parliament - They create acts and statutes
• What are the different types of parliamentary houses, and what do they do?

  House of Commons - elected, so bills are introduced to this house first

  House of Lords - Acts to check the House of Commons, members can vote against proposed changes of law
• What are Private Members' Bills?

  Where MPs introduce a bill to parliament.

  An example of a bill being introduced through a ballot is the Abortion Act 1967
• What are Public Bills?

  Most governmental bills are public bills.

  The Legal Services Act 2007 is an example of a public bill
• What are Private Bills?


  A small number of bills will pass into law that only affects individual people or businesses.

  An example of this is the Faversham Oyster Fishery Company Bill 2016
• What are the stages of making a bill into an act?

  1st stage - Papers

  2nd stage - Readings

  3rd stage - Committee

  4th stage - Switch

  5th stage - King
• What are the different types of papers and what is their purpose?

  Green paper:

  • Document introduced by the Departmental Minister to interested parties asking for their opinions
  • For example, in the education department, teachers, parents or students may be asked for their opinions

  White paper:

  • Published from the gree paper
  • The official proposal after gaining opinions from the interested parties
• What are the 3 types of readings and what do they entail?

  First reading:

  • Name and main aims are read out
  • Majority vote is held to decide whether the House wishes to consider the Bill further.

  Second reading:

  • Main debate on the whole of the bill
  • This is the longest reading stage and is often spread over 2 days
  • Focuses on main detals rather than the small details
  • Majority vote taken at the end.

  Third reading:

  • The final vote on the bill
  • Amendments may be made.
• What happens in the committee stage (3rd stage)

  Committee stage:

  • Detailed examination of the bill by a committee of 16-50 MPs
  • The members of this committee usually have a special interest in the bill being passed

  Report stage:

  • The committee reports back to Parliment on any amendments
  • Parliament then votes in favour of these amendments
• What happens in the switch stage (4th)?

  Switch between houses:

  • The bill switches between the House of Lords (who can make further amendments) and then to the House of Commons, who vote on those amendments
• What happens in the 5th stage of the making of an act?

  Under the Royal Assent Act 1961, the monarch will give approval to the bill and it will become an Act of Parliament
• What is Judicial Precedent?

  A way of creating law based on past decisions in similar cases
• Who has to follow the laws set by judges?

  Judicial precedent works in a hierarchal nature, with higher courts binding lower courts.

  • For example, if a headteacher sets a rule, teachers and students must follow it, but not the school board of governers
  • If a teacher sets a rule, students must follow it, but not the headteacher
• What is Original Precedent

  When a point of law is being decided for the first time with no past cases to refer to

  • For example, in the DPP vs Smith case, the defendant cutoff his ex girlfriend's ponytail.
  • He was charged under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
  • However, this law states that the defendant must have caused harm. Therefore the court had to decide whether cutting someone's hair amounted to causing harm.
  • The court made original precedent and decided that it did.
• What is Binding Precedent?

  Lower courts must follow the ruling that higher courts made in similar cases.

  • For example, in the case of Schweppes ltd, a law was made and became precedant for future cases.
  • Later in the same day, a similar case was held involving the same point of law, and the courts applied the precedent from the earlier case.
• How do judges avoid precedent?

  OverrulingReversingDistinguishing