Chapter 4 Legislation

Chapter 4 

Legislation 

Introduction 

• Composition and function of the legislature 
• Types of laws the legislature may enact  
• Composition of the House of Commons and House of Lords 
• Influence of Parliament 
• Types of bills 
• The legislative process Passage of a Bill through Parliament 
• Advantages of law making 
• Disadvantages of law making 

4.1 General 

1. Parliament is UK's main law making body - its legislature . Parliament consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. 

2. Parliament and government are 2 different things. 

• Parliament consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords 
• The Government - the executive - is made up of ministers supported by civil servants. Ministers are normally Members of Parliament or peers ( members of the House of Lords ). 

3. Laws created by Parliament take precedence over judge made law . ( Common law ). 

4. A draft law introduced in Parliament is known as a 'Bill'. A law that has been passed by Parliament and which has received the Royal Assent is known as an 'Act' or 'statute' . 

5. 4 main functions of Parliament : 

• To examine proposals for new law. 
• To provide , by voting for taxation , the means of carrying on the work of government. 
• To scrutinise government policy and administration , including proposals for expenditure. 
• To debate the major issues of the day . 

6. Why legislation is necessary : 

• To amend or repeal existing legislation. 
• To change or add to the common law. 
• To codify or consolidate law. 

4.2 Types of Act 

1. Original legislation - Entirely new law. 

2. Consolidating legislation - Designed to bring together laws previously contained in a number of Acts purely so that they can be found all in one place. 

3. Codifying legislation - Codifying legislation bring Acts together in the same way as consolidating legislation but also incorporates common law into statute. For example , the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 codify the law on police powers. 

4. Amending legislation - Amending legislation is designed to alter an existing Act. 

4.3 House of Commons and House of Lords 

House of Commons 

1. The House of Commons is the more important of the two Houses of Parliament as it is the elected chamber and hence democratic. 

2. The country is divided into constituencies and each of these votes for one Member of Parliament. 

3. The government of the day is formed by the political party which has a majority in the House of Commons. 

4. Acts of Parliament are effectively created through the will of the majority in the House of Commons. 

House of Lords 

1. The House of Lords is a non-elected body. 

2. Like the House of Commons , the House of Lords debates and votes on Bills. The Lords generally acts in a way the complements the work of the Commons rather than acting in opposition to it. 

3. The Commons is the driving force behind most Acts. The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 effectively made the Lords subordinate to the Commons to bypass the Lords if it opposes Bills. 

4.4 Influences on Parliament 

Owning to its Commons majority , the government of the day has the greatest influence on what laws are made by Parliament . However the government is heavily influenced by : 

• The European Union - membership if EU involves a commitment to incorporate EU directives into legislation. 
• Law reform agencies. 
• Pressure groups which represent particular interests and concerns. 

4.5 Types of Bill 

1. Private bills - Bills that apply only to a particular area, a specific organisation or a certain section of the population , rather than to the country as a whole . 

2. Public bills : 

1. The vast majority of Bills passing through Parliament are aimed at the public as a whole. 

2. Most public bills are introduced by the government and therefore described as 'government Bills'. 

3. Examples of public bills include the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. 

3. Private members bills 

1. Bills that are introduced by backbench MPs. These MPs are those who are not government ministers. 

2. Around 10% of Commons time is spent on this type of Bill . Owing to limited time set aside for debating these Bills, the chances of a Bill becoming an Act are small . One example is the Abortion Act 1967. 

3. There are two ways a private MP can introduce a Bill - by ballot or through the 'ten-minute' rule. 

4. Ballot - the Parliamentary process allows for a ballot each Parliamentary session in  which 20 private members are selected who can then take their turn in presenting a Bill to Parliament. 

5. Ten-minute rule- Under this rule , any MP can make a speech of up to ten minutes supporting the introduction of new legislation . This method is rarely successful unless there is no oppostion to the Bill. 

4.6 Green and White Papers 

Before a Bill is drafted and introduced into Parliament by the government , there is often a period of consultation. Not all Bills are preceded by Green and White Papers. 

Green Papers 

1. Part of the consultation process may be the publication by the government of a Green Paper. In this the government sets outs its reasons for wishing to create new laws and it puts forward broad proposals as to what form new laws will take. 

2. Responses are invited to the Green Paper. 

White Papers 

1. A White Paper is produced later containing more detailed proposals for law. 

2. The approach contained in a White Paper is likely to be the one used in a Bill. 

General 

1. The great majority of Acts of Parliament are introduced by the government and these are initially drafted by lawyers in the Civil Service who are known as Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury . The government department which is responsible for the new law gives instructions as to what is to be included and the intended effect of the proposed law. 

2. A Bill has to pass through a number of stages in both the Commons and the Lords before it can be given the Royal Assent. 

3. Bills can start of in either House but Public Bills involving taxation or public spending must begin in the Commons. 

4.7 The Legislative Process - Passage of A Bill through Parliament 

Royal Assent  <- 

House of Lords  <- (Same process as in the House of Commons) 

( Third Reading <- 

Report Stage <- 

Committee Stage <- 

 Second Reading <- 

First Reading ) <-(House of Commons) 

1 . House of Commons 

First Reading 

1. A brief formality. 

2. The name and main title of the Bill are read out. 

3. Usually there is no debate but a vote is taken on whether the House wishes to proceed to the next stage. 

Second Reading  

1. This aims and principles of the Bill are debated. The debate usually focuses on the main principles rather than the smaller details. 

2. A vote is taken and there must be a majority in favour for the Bill to progress any further. 

3. voting is whipped on government Bills (MPs form the governing party must follow the government line or risk being expelled from the party.) 

4. Non-controversial Bills may be discussed by a committee instead of the whole House. 

Committee Stage 

1. The details of the Bill are discussed by a standing committee composed of MPs ( between 16 and 50 ) from different parties roughly in proportion to their numbers in the House. 

2. For finance Bills the whole House will sit in committee. 

3. The government may attempt to use the ' guillotine' (setting time limits to curtail debate ) to ensure completion of this stage 

Report Stage 

1. The Report Stage is where the committee reports back to the House on those amendments. 

2. The House considers amendments made at the Committee Stage and may accept or reject them or may make further changes. 

3. If there were no amendments at the Committee stage , there will not be a 'Report' stage - instead the Bill will go straight into the Third Reading. 

4. The Report stage has been describe as 'a useful safeguard against a small Committee amending a Bill against the wishes of the House , and a necessary opportunity for second thoughts'. 

Third Reading  

1. This is the final vote on the Bill . It is almost a formality since a Bill which has passed through all the stages above is unlikely to fail at this late stage. 

2 . House of Lords 

1. The Bill passes through the same five stages as in the Commons. 

2. If the Lords accept the Bill , it is passed for the Royal Assent. 

3. If the Lords reject the Bill , it is delayed for a year. 

4. If the Lords amend the Bill , it goes back to the Commons , which accepts the changes or the Lords withdraws them. 

Royal Assent  

In practice , a formality. The Bill then becomes an Act of Parliament. 

4.8 Advantages of law making in parliament 

• Democratic 
• Allows full reform of major areas 
• Sets policies 
• Consultation before Bill is presented to Parliament 
• Discussion in both House during process to pass Act 

4.9 Disadvantages of law making in parliament 

• Limited Parliamentary time may prevent some laws from being reformed 
• Acts can be long and complex 
• Wording may be difficult and lead to court case on interpretation of meaning 

4.10 Parliamentary sovereignty 

• can legislate on any subject matter 
• cannot bind successor 
• cannot be overruled by others 

• limitations due to EU membership and Human Rights Act 1998 

Learning outcome 

By now you should know that : 

• legislature and the executive are two distinct bodies 
• Parliament may choose to enact different types of legislation 
• The House of Commons plays an important part in the legislative process 
• Public bills are more frequently issued in Parliament as opposed any other types of bills 
• The legislative process is lengthy and time consuming 
• Advantages of the legislative process could outweigh its disadvantages 

Self-Assessment 

1. List the 4 functions of Parliament. 

2. What are the two Houses of Parliament? 

3. State 3 types of Acts? 

4. What are the advantages of law making in Parliament? 

5. At what stage of the legislative process would the aims and principles of the BIll be debated? 

Further reading 

Jacqueline Martin , The English Legal System , 6th Edition , pgs. 43-55 

Appendix A - Sample act of parliament 

Law Reform ( Year and a Day Rule ) Act 1996 

An Act to abolish the "year and a day rule" and , in consequence of its abolition , to impose a restriction on the institution in certain circumstances of proceedings for a fatal offence. 

(17th June 1996) 

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen'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 : 

Abolition of "year and a day rule" 

1. The rule known as the " year and a day rule " ( that is , the rule that , for the purposes of offences involving death and of suicide ,  an act or omission is conclusively presumed not to have caused a person's death if more than a year and a day elapsed before he died) is abolished for all purposes. Restriction on institution of proceedings for a fatal offence. 

2. (1) Proceedings to which this section applies may only be instituted by or with the consent of the Attorney General. 

(2) This section applies to proceedings against a person for a fatal offence if: 

(a)This injury alleged to have caused the death was sustained more than three years before the death occurred  ,or 

(b) The person has previously been convicted of an offence committed in circumstances alleged to be connected with the death. 

(3) In subsection (2) "fatal offence" means: 

(a) Murder , manslaughter , infanticide or any other offence of which one of the elements is causing a person's death. 

(b) The offence of aiding , abetting , counselling or procuring a person's suicide. 

(4) No Provision that proceedings may be instituted only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions shall apply to proceedings to which this section applies. 

(5) In the application of this section to Northern Ireland : 

(a) The reference in subsection (1) to the Attorney General is to the Attorney General for Northern Ireland , and 

(b) The reference in subsection (4) to the Director of Public Prosecutions is to the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.