legislative process

• pre legislative process

  • idea stage
  • consultation stage
  • drafting
• idea stage

  idea for new law from law commission and manifesto reports

  eg. party manifestos
• major matters

  green paper issued by minister who has responsibility for that matter
• green paper

  consultative document on a topic, gov view put forward, proposals for law reforms

  interested parties invited - considerations and changes made

  gov remains uncommitted
• white paper

  published with firm proposals, finalised version of the idea

  gov's 'statement of intent'
• consultation is valuable, time for consideration

  gov criticised for 'knee jerk' reaction - rushing laws
• formal legislative procedure

  major legislation - made through acts of parliament, long process before act of parliament becomes law
• most acts of parliament introduced by gov, drafted by lawyers and parliamentary draftsmen
• bill

  when proposed law has been drafted
• bills become acts of parliaments when gone through necessary stages
• bills put forward by gov and introduced by gov minister
• wording of bills are unambiguous, precise and comprehensive
• 2 main types of bill - public and private
• public bill

  matters of the public policy which affect the whole country

  eg Legal Aid
• private bill

  affect individual people or corporations

  eg. Whitehaven Harbour Act 2007 - transferred all rights and obligations in respect of harbour from 3 companies to Whitehaven Harbour Commissions
• private members bills

  individual MPs can introduce a bill - backbenchers
• private members bills

  introduced by ballot or 10 min rule each parliamentary session (10-12 months) 20 private members present bill to parliament
• few private members bills become law:

  abortion act 1967 - made abortion legal

  marriage act 1994 - people can get married in any registered place
• parliamentary process

  bill has to be passed by both House of Commons and Lords

  can start in either house, finance bills must start in House of Commons
• House of Commons - democratically elected body, vote against is the end of Bill
• gov have majority - policies supported by gov likely to become law
• first reading

  second reading

  committee stage

  report stage

  third reading

  consideration of amendments

  royal assent
• first reading

  formal procedure, name and main aims read out, no discussion or voting
• second reading

  main debate, MPs debate principles of bill, speaker controls debates

  end vote verbal aye or no, unclear goes to formal vote

  majority for bill to progress
• committee stage

  detailed examination of each clause of Bill done by standing committee (16 - 50 MPs). committee is chosen specifically for Bill, MPs with chosen knowledge of subject

  finance bills - whole house will sit in committee
• report stage

  standing commission report back to house any amendments

  no amendments - no report stage

  amendments debated, accepted or rejected
• third reading

  final vote, formality, unlikely to fail, only be further debate on Bill if 6 MPs request
• House of Lords

  same 5 stages, committee stage involves whole house

  HoL make amendments, goes back to HoC for to consider

  if Hoc don't accept, goes back to HoL - 'ping pong'
• royal assent

  final stage, monarch formally gives approval to bill and becomes an act of parliament

  is a formality under Royal Assent Act 1961
• parliament acts

  power of HoL limited - Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, allow bill to become law if HoL reject but must introduced to HoC in next session passing all stages again

  Parliament Acts only used on 4 occasions since 1949 eg. Hunting Act 2004
• House of Lords not an elected body - refines and adds to law
• pro

  democratic - made by elected representatives
• pro

  act of parliament can reform whole areas of law in one act

  eg. Fraud Act 2006 - abolished old offences, created newer simpler structure of offences
• pro

  consultation stage before bill is presented - gov can consider objections to proposals, lengthy thorough process
• con

  parliament doesn't have time to deal with all proposed reforms

  eg. law commission proposed changes to OAPA but still not reformed
• con

  lengthy process, takes months to pass a bill
• con

  acts are very long and complex, hard to understand

  lead to court case on interpretation of meaning - wording is difficult