paper 2 law - law making

law reform - influences on law making

political (government policy)- when a government is formed it has a list of reforms which are set out in the parties manifesto to persuade people to vote for it, government also announces in the kings speech what particular laws it intends to introduce eg human rights act 1998

public opinion and the media- where there is strong public opinion about a law the gov may change it, public opinion often expressed in media on tv and newspapers eg dangerous dogs act 1991

pressure groups and lobbyists- an organisation formed to bring their issues to attention of public and government through lobbying, strikes or petitions eg hunting act 2004

public inquiries and emergency situations - investigate serious public concerns scrutinising past decisions, commissioned by gov and investigated by an independent panel eg firearms amendment act 1997

influences on law making - law commission

role is to systematically keep all English law under review and recommend reform created by the law commissions act 1965 aiming to ensure law is fair, modern, simple and cost effective

law commission consists of a chair who is a high court or appeal court judge and 4 other commissioners who are experienced judges or barristers appointed by the lord chancellor and secretary state of justice for up to 5 years

law commission - consolidation

drawing together law that is contained in several acts into one act enabling the law to be more coherent and accessible eg sentencing act 2020

law commission- repeal

removing outdated or obsolete acts of parliament, can only be done by parliament but law commission can advise which acts should be repealed

law commission - codification

brings together all the law on one topic into one complete code of law to make it simpler and easier to find

how does the law commission work

referral—> research—> consultation—> proposals to reform

1. topics referred by lord chancellor on behalf of government

2. law commission researches the area of law to identify its problems

3. a consultation paper is produced seeking views on ideas for reform giving arguments for and against

4. law commission analyses the responses to the consultation and a report is presented giving its final recommendations for reform

eg coroners and justice act 2009

eval of influences of law making

political

advantage- each party has it proposals known and ready if they are elected, government majority means most of its laws it introduces will be passed

disadvantage- new governments may repeal or alter laws made by previous gov

public opinion and media

advantages- free press able to criticise government policy or bring issues to attention of gov raising public concern

disadvantages- responding too quickly to high profile incidents can lead to poorly drafted law , media can cause moral panics

pressure groups

advantages- raise important issues to parliament and a Wide range of expertise

disadvantages- try to impose their ideas on the majority and can also have conflicting interests

lobbyists

advantages- can represent and present interests direct to government ministers, may trigger publicity

disadvantages- professional lobbyists are expensive and doesn’t represent all groups only those who can afford their services also accused of corruption

law commission

advantages - are legal experts with more than 2/3 proposals successful

disadvantages- some reforms may never be implemented due to lack of political will also a lack of parliamentary time to discuss law reform

legislative process

parliament main legislative body in the uk consisting of the house of commons and house of lords

pre legislative process - white and green papers

bill is drafted

first reading

second reading

committee stage

report stage

third reading

same procedures in other house

royal assent

pre legislative process (green and white papers)

green paper- initial consultation document to gain views about proposed new law and suggestions from a variety of interested parties, amendments may be made

white paper- a document which sets out the governments preferred approach to future legislation, limited opportunity to comment

legislative process- bills

when a new law is making its way through stages of becoming an act its known as a bill

public bills - matters of public policy affecting whole or part of country, most gov bills are public bills

private members bills- give an opportunity to individual mps who aren’t part of gov to introduce a bill

private bills- designed to create a law which will affect only individuals or corporations but not the whole community

legislative stages - first reading (1)

bills start in HOC or HOL except finance bills which must start in commons

first reading- the short title and the main aims of the bill are announced and the bill is printed with no debating at this stage

legislative stages - second reading (2)

where the main debate takes place conducted via the speaker the minister or mp responsible will describe the aims of the bill which focus on main principles of the bill at the end of the debate a vote is taken where there must be a majority vote of the bill in order for it to progress

legislative process - committee stage (3)

detailed examination of the bill is undertaken by a committee of 15-60 MPS usually done by a standing committee, they are entitled to make recommendations for any amendments necessary for the bill to reflect the intentions from the second reading

legislative process- report stage (4)

after scrutiny by the committee they will report back any amendment to the house for debate and at the end there will be a debate on whether to accept the amendments, if no amendments bill goes straight to next stage

legislative process - third reading (5)

gives house final chance to look at bill again with all its amendments and decide whether they want it to go further, it is unlikely to fail at this stage

legislative process - repeat process in other house (6)

bill is passed to other house where it goes through the same stages if either house makes amendments then it goes back the house it started from so they can consider those amendments also known as the ping pong effect

legislative process - royal assent (7)

final stage where the monarch gives aproval of the bill then becoming an act of parliament

advantages of legislative proces

democratic- is made by elected representatives, parliament is answerable to the electorate as there has to be a general election every 5 years

consultation- law can be made after detailed enquiry or a report from the law commission, so wide consultation is possible before parliament makes changes to the law

law making power can be delegated to other bodies - acts of parliament can set broad policies to give power to others meaning complex law can be made by experts in the field allowing greater detail in the law

disadvantages of legislative process

lengthy process- whole process can take several months or years eg consumer rights act, there is often delay in dealing with an issue after a report has been issued

government control- effective scrutiny of proposed laws is limited because majority of MPS are from government and will vote along party lines, debates can be affected by political agendas

lack of parliamentary time- government controls the parliamentary timetable and there is not always time or political wilt consider all reforms proposed for example there is very little time for private members bills

what is delegated legislation

parliament is the main law making body in the UK, parliament is very busy so delegates some of its law making powers to secondary bodies allowing them to make new laws on behalf of parliament

enabling acts allow parliament to give a secondary body power to create new laws eg police and criminal evidence act

types of delegated legislation- orders in council

drafted by government departments and approved by the king and privy council so this type of delegated legislation allows the government to make laws without going through parliament

orders in council can be made on a wide range of issues eg bringing acts of parliament into force and making laws in times of national emergencies eg energy act 1976

can also be used to amend or update existing law

types of delegated legislation- statutory instruments

ministers and government departments are given authority to make regulations for areas under their particular responsibility eg minister of transport can make road traffic regulations

eg building act 1984 / PACE act

types of delegated legislation- by laws

by laws are made by local authorities to cover matters within their own area eg a county council can pass laws affecting the whole county

many local by laws involve traffic control eg parking restrictions

technical by laws can be made by public corporations and companies for matters within their jurisdiction which involve the public eg transport act 2000

reasons for delegated legislation

detailed law - parliament doesn’t have time to deal with all the rules and regulations needed for society to work safely

expert knowledge- better for parliament to leave detailed matters to those who have expert knowledge

local knowledge - for by laws, local councils know their areas and can decide which areas need drinking bans ect

speed- delegated legislation can be passed quickly to deal with emergencies

advantages of delegated legislation

saves parliamentary time