Law Reform

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Created by
rebecca

Cards (9)

  • What three 'things' make up Parliament
    • House of Commons
    • House of Lords
    • Monarch
  • Legislative Process & Law Reform
    1. Parliament has the power to make laws
    2. Parliament has the power to raise taxes
    3. In Britain Parliament has complete power - in law there are no limits on what it can do, Parliament is sovereign
    4. In reality there are lots of limits on Parliament's power
  • Limits on Parliament's power
    • Supreme Court powers, eg declaring the proroguing of parliament
    • Effect of the HRA 1998 (Section 2 – must take into account relevant decisions of the European Court of Human Rights)
    • Monarch (royal prerogative)
  • Parliamentary sovereignty

    In Britain Parliament has complete power - in law there are no limits on what it can do
  • House of Commons

    • 650 elected Members of Parliament made up of all the various political parties and the Government of the day
    • The House of Commons is the most powerful part of Parliament. It can force laws through even though the Lords may disagree
  • House of Lords

    • Made up of hereditary peers, life peers, some bishops and judges
    • There is an argument going on over who should sit in the Lords and whether some or all Lords should be elected
  • Monarch

    • The King is a CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCH
    • King Charles III is HEAD OF STATE
    • The King is a FIGUREHEAD – his powers are limited by the laws and customs of Britain
    • The King is head of the armed forces, the Church of England, and the legal system
    • The country is governed in his name
  • Making an Act of Parliament
    1. Manifesto
    2. Green Paper
    3. White Paper
    4. Bills: Public Bills, Private Members' Bills, Private Bills
    5. First Reading
    6. Second Reading
    7. Committee Stage
    8. Report Stage
    9. Third Reading
    10. House of Lords - Bill then goes to the Lords, goes through similar process as the Commons, any amendments must go back to Commons for consideration
    11. Royal Assent - In theory the King must give his consent to all legislation before it can become law, in practice consent is never refused
  • Acts of Parliament contain the statement: 'Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows'