Unit 4 1.1

• The house of commons consists of 650MPs voted by members of their communities
• The House of Lords consists of 800 Members. 92 are hereditary, 26 are bishops from the church of england and the rest are lifetime peers.
• there are 8 stages of a bill passing through parliament
• first reading: the paper is announced and a vote commences
• stage 2: second reading - the paper is debated and another vote occurs
• stage 3: committee stage - a select group is asked to study it more closely and suggest amendments
• stage 5: third reading - a final vote is taken on the bill
• stage 6: this process is then repeated in the House of Lords, if they suggest amendments, they will be passed back to the house of commons for approval.
• the House of Commons have a final approval as they are the elected representatives
• Stage 7: the royal assent - the monarch gives a stamp of approval to the bill
• the monarch cant refuse a bill. the assent is a form of formality
• stage 8: the bill becomes an act of parliament
• Judicial precedent: A decision made by a judge in a previous case that is used to decide a similar case in the future.
• precedent overruling: an exception which occurs when a higher court decides that the decision made by the lower court was wrong
• precedent distinguishing - this is when the judge thinks that there is a significant differences in the facts of the current case. The precedent only applies if if the legal issue and the facts of the case are similar.
• What are the three rules a court follows when deciding statutory interpretation?

  1. The literal rule
  2. the golden rule
  3. the mischief rule
• The literal rule: the first rule that should be applied by judges. the words of the statute are given their natural or ordinary meaning and applied without the mudge seeking to make sense of the statute
• The Golden Rule: If the literal rule does not work, then the courts will apply the golden rule. This means they look at the intention behind the legislation and try to interpret it so as to give effect to its purpose.
• Mischief rule: If neither the literal nor the golden rule works, then the courts can use the mischief rule. This involves looking at what problem the law was trying to solve (mischief) and interpreting the statute accordingly.
• Criminal justice system: The process through which criminal offences are investigated, prosecuted and punished.
• Ambiguity: When the wording of a statute is unclear or open to more than one interpretation.
• Police powers: Police have power to arrest people who commit crimes, investigate crime scenes, interview suspects, gather evidence, and bring cases to trial.
• Prosecution powers: Prosecutors decide whether to charge someone with an offence based on the evidence gathered by police. They also represent the Crown during trials.
• Sentencing powers: Judges determine sentences for convicted criminals based on factors such as the seriousness of the offence, the defendant's previous record, and mitigating circumstances.
• Statutes: Laws passed by parliament.
• Judicial powers: Judges determine guilt or innocence based on the facts presented during a trial.
• Sentencing powers: Judges determine appropriate sentences for convicted criminals based on factors such as the seriousness of the offense, the defendant's background, and mitigating circumstances.
• Stage 4: the report stage - committee reports findings. Amendments discussed, vote taken