LAW - ELS - PARLIAMENTARY LAW MAKING

who decides what bills are put before parliament

• the cabinet

what are green and white papers

• A Green Paper refers to a minsters proposed reforms in the law

• White Papers outline the proposals that are going forward and will appear in draft legislation, known as a Bill.

whats a consoldiation bill

a bill that pulls together existing laws e,g equality act 2010

what are the 3 types of bill

• public

• private

• hybrid

whats a public bill

• matters of public policy which will affect the whole country

• most gov bills are public bills

whats a private bill

• a private bill is a bill that only affecrs individual people or corporations

• eg faversham fisheries bill 2016

whats a hybrid bill

• cross between public n private bill

• affect a particular person , organisation or place

• for example bills allowing construction of rail links in london

whats a private members bill

• a private members bill is a bill put forth by a non government minister

• relatively few pmb’s become law

whats an example of a private members bill

• abortion act 1967

• legalised abortion

how can private mps introduce a bill

• by ballot , time each parliamentary session for mps chosen by ballo to present a bill to parliament

• 10 minute rule , mps can make a speech up to 10 mins supporting the introduction of new legislation - rarely successfull

outline the bill to act process

• first reading

• second reading

• commitee stage

• report stage

• third reading

• hol

• first reading

• second reading

• commitee stage

• report stage

• third reading

• royal assent

what happens first and second reading

first - name of the bill is read out

second - mps will debate the bills principles , then vote

what happens at the comittee stage

• the bill is examined by the public bill committee

• comitte proportional to hoc rep

• will propose ammendments to the legislation

what happens at the report stage

• commitee reports its proposed ammendments back to the house

• ammendments voted on

what happens at the third reading

• final vote on the bill

if the bill starts in the hoc what happens at HOL

• hol goes through the same 5 stages

• if hol makes ammendments then it will be sent back to hoc to be voted on

• if the hoc and hol cant agree the bill often goes back and forth (parliament act 1949)

whats royal assent

• the monarch gives approval to a bill

what influence parliament to change the law

• political influence

• public opinion / media

• pressure groups

• law reform bodies

how does political influence affect parliaments law making

• each party has a manifesto that they want to ejact including changes to the law

• for example in the 2024 labour manifesto pledged to get rid of the rwanda scheme , repealed the safety of rwanda act 2024

advanatages of political influence on law making

• new government may repeal laws purely for politcial reasons

• government not bound to manifesto , with a sizeable majority can usually pass what they want

• significant review/changes to the law can be costly

advatages of political influence on law making

• law can be made to support the views of the electorate

• govs which majority will be able to pass law easily a (boris j brexit) - making law making process efficient and not deadlock

how does public opinion/ the media influence law making

• how the media reports stories will affect public opinion

• for example media sensationalized dog attacks leading to a public demand for law changes - dangerous dogs act 1991

advantages of media/public opinion shaping law

• reporting of stories can cause public concern leading to action

• media good outlet to criticise gov policy

• can bring to light compelling reasons to change the law

disadvantages of media / public opinion influencing law making

• if the gov responds to quickly to respond to outrage may lead to poorly put together legislation , dangerous dogs act poorly worded leading to many disputes over the leg

• media may be biased

whats a pressure group

pressure groups are organisations that try to influence policy and law making by pressuring the government

this can be for a specific section of society or a specific cause

what are the 4 types of pressure group

insider - groups with direct access to the gov and act as an advisory body , eg BMA

outsider - no access to gov , take action / protest to promote their cause , eg extinction rebellion

cause - promote a specific cause or take action against a specific issue - amnesty international human rights

sectional - represent the interests of a section of society , eg trade unions

whats direct and indirect action examples

• direct - boycotts , disobedience to laws , lobbying

• indirect - distributing leaflets , protesting

whats a bill that has been influenced by pressure groups

hunting act 2004 , banned fox hunting, rspca and other animal rights orgs

disadvantages of pressure groups influencing law making

• argued trying to impose their will onto the majority

• pressure groups often have conflicting interests

advantages of pressure groups influencing law making

• raise awareness of important issues

• leads to wide range of issues being brought to parliaments attention

how do law reform bodies influence parliamentary law making

• bodies like the law comission research areas of the law and reccomend reforms

• responsible for imporant leg like occupiers liability act 1984

advantages and disadvantages of law reform bodies

• law is researched by legal experts

• whole areas of law considered, consoldiate

• trusted body - free of bias

• however parliament doesnt implement all proposals

what else can influence parliamentary law making

• one off disasters

• dunblane massacre lead to laws banning most handguns

• 9/11 led to anti-terrorism legislation