L2 Parliament, the Law-Making Process, and Statutory Interpretation

what are the two main sources of law in the uk?

Legislation (statute law) and case law (common law). Legislation includes Acts of Parliament (primary legislation) and secondary legislation. Case law is made by judges through binding decisions and precedent.

what is the difference between primary and secondary legislation?

Primary legislation is Act of Parliament, made through full legislative stages and fully scrutinised. Secondary legislation is made by ministers under powers given by an Act, with less debate and scrutiny, but it is still legally binding.

what is parliamentary sovereignty, according to A.V. Dicey?

Parliamentary sovereignty means Parliament has the right to make or unmake any law whatever, and no other body can override its legislation.

what are the key consequences of parliamentary sovereignty?

Parliament can repeal laws made by earlier Parliaments, it cannot bind a future Parliament, and the courts cannot override its legislation.

what is a Bill, and when does it become and Act?

A Bill is a draft law. It becomes an Act if it is passed by both Houses of Parliament and receives Royal Assent.

what is devolution?

Devolution is the decentralisation of power from the UK Parliament to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It does not remove the supremacy of the UK Parliament.

what is the purpose of the House of Lords in the legislative process?

The House of Lords revises and scrutinises Bills from the House of Commons.

what major changes were made by the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949?

They shifted power towards the elected House of Commons. The 1911 Act removed the Lords’ veto, allowing the Commons to bypass the Lords and still obtain Royal Assent.wh

what was the significance of the constitutional reform act 2005?

It reformed the office of Lord Chancellor, removed them as head of the judiciary, created the Secretary of State for Justice, guaranteed judicial independence, and created the UK Supreme Court.

what is statutory interpretation?

statutory interpretation is the process courts use to determine the meaning of legislation and apply parliaments intention when statutory words are ambiguous, outdated, or incomplete.

what is the literal rule?

The literal rule gives words their plain, ordinary meaning, even if the result is harsh or absurd. it supports parliamentary sovereignty by applying what parliament actually said.

what is the golden rule?

the golden rule modifies the literal rule so that a court can depart from the ordinary meaning to avoid an absurd or repugnant result.

what is the mischief rule?

the mischief rule asks what problem or “mischief” the law was meant to fix and interprets the statute to suppress that mischief.

what is the purposive approach to statutory interpretation?

the purposive approach asks what parliaments true purpose was and interprets the statute to give effect to that purpose, even if that means going beyond the literal words.

when may Hansard be used as an external aid under Pepper V Hart?

Hansard may be used only if the statute is ambiguous, obscure, or leads to absurdity, and the material contains clear statements made by a minister or another promoter of the Bill.

what are the internal and external aids to statutory interpretation?

internal aids include the long title, preamble, headings, punctuation, and other section of the Act. External aids include Law Commission reports, government reports, and Hansard in limited circumstances.

what does section 3 and section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 do?

Section 3 requires courts to interpret legislation compatibly with the ECHR “so far as possible.” Section 4 allows declarations of incompatibility. The Act does not make the ECtHR superior to UK courts.

what is the difference between the House of Commons and the House of Lords?

the House of Commons is the elected chamber with around 650 MPs. the House of Lords is unelected, has around 800 members, mainly revises and scrutinises Bills from the commons.