Parliament and the law
How are rules made and who can influence this procedure? This unit will introduce you to the rule-making processes in of the UK Houses of Parliament in Westminster. You will examine how laws are enacted and how it is possible for unelected bodies and people to influence the content of such laws. First published on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 as Author(s):
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9.5 Tables Using a table or just a set of columns can help you to analyse information and ideas. You can vary the number of columns and rows as needed. The following activity provides an opportunity for you to summarise information in a table. 9.3 Linear notes This is the most common form of note-taking. It involves writing in sequence the points you want to note. As with all note-taking, the aim is to pick out and record the most important points. Avoid simply writing out most or all of the text again. Try to write your notes in your own words as this will help you understand what you have been reading about. Also add a reference to which page(s) of the text your notes refer so you can easily find your way back to the relevant part of the te 8 Magistrates Magistrates have been a part of the English legal system since the Justice of the Peace Act 1361. Their main role has always been in the criminal justice system. There are now over 30,000 magistrates (also known as Justices of the Peace) hearing over one million criminal cases per yea References 4.13.3 Scrutiny Again, connected to the accountability issue is the problem of adequate scrutiny. The detailed, technical and specific nature of much-delegated legislation means that, on the whole, Members of Parliament (the elected representatives) do not have the expertise to consider proposed legislation effectively. In addition, you have already noted that the scrutiny committees themselves only have limited powers. 4.11.1 Procedural ultra vires This is where the enabling Act sets out the procedural rules to be followed by the body which has been given the delegated power. The court can find the delegated legislation to be ultra vires and void if these rules were not followed. In the Aylesbury Mushroom case (1972) Agricultural Horticultural and Forestry Industry Training Board v Aylesbury Mushrooms Ltd (1972) 1 All ER 280 delegated legislation required the Minister of Labour to consult ‘any organisation … appe 4.8 Professional regulations Certain professional bodies, such as The Solicitors Regulation Authority, have delegated authority under enabling legislation to regulate the conduct of their members. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has power to control the conduct of practising solicitors under the Solicitors Act 1974. The General Medical Council regulates the conduct of its members under the Medical Act of 1858. It has four main functions: to keep up-to-date registers of qualif 4.3 Types of delegated legislation There are different types of delegated legislation: Statutory Instruments byelaws Orders in Council Court Rule committees professional regulations. 3,3,7 Royal Assent You have already seen references to Royal Assent in this unit. The monarch formally assents to a Bill in order for it to pass into law. Royal Assent has never been withheld in recent times. Queen Anne was the last monarch to withhold a Royal Assent, when she blocked a Scottish Militia Bill in 1707. The Queen feared a Scottish militia might be turned against the monarchy. Since the sixteenth century no monarch has actually signed a Bill themselves. Instead, the monarch signs what are kno 3.3.4 Report stage A Bill that has been amended in committee stage is reviewed by the House in which it started. The amendments will be debated in the House and accepted or rejected. Further amendments may also be added. Introduction This unit is designed as an introduction to the academic study of the concept of rules, but will also serve as an introduction to a variety of different writing styles that are used in the academic world. It will challenge you to think about why some statements are rules and some are not, and what it is that distinguishes rules from habits and customs. It also looks at more formal rules and how such rules are applied and enforced. Rules shape our lives because they set out what we may and may 1.2 Balancing the right to privacy and other rights Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects freedom of expression. Section 12 of the Human Rights Act 1998 requires the courts in the UK to have particular regard to the importance of the right to freedom of expression. However, freedom of expression and the right to privacy frequently collide. This can be illustrated by reference to the American case of Anonsen v Donohue (1993). In this case a woman revealed on national television that her husband had raped and impr 3.2 The evolution of the EU The EU has grown out of a series of intergovernmental political initiatives which have been expressed in a number of treaties. These treaties form the building blocks that give authority and power to the institutions and law-making bodies of the EU. The process is evolutionary, as treaties are reviewed and amended to reflect both the changing membership and the vision of the EU. The EU is founded on several treaties: The treaty that established 2.4 The European Court of Human Rights Common law and the court hierarchy, statutory interpretation and judicial precedent are all peculiar to the domestic English law. The European Court of Human Rights operates in a different way. The rights in the European Convention on Human Rights are stated in general terms and are interpreted according to international legal principles. For example, Article 31(1) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties states: 6.5.1 Presumptions When determining the meaning of particular words the courts will make certain presumptions about the law. If the statute clearly states the opposite, then a presumption will not apply and it is said that the presumption is rebutted. The main presumptions are: A presumption against change in the common law. It is assumed that the common law will apply unless Parliament has made it plain in the Act that the common law has been altered. 2.1 Using estimations Approximations are most useful when it comes to making rough estimates – like adding up a bill quickly to see if it is about right or checking a calcul 1.6 Significant figures for numbers less than one You can use the same procedure for numbers less than one. In scientific work people deal with very small units of measurement. Suppose you read that the spacing between adjacent atoms in a solid was 0.000 002 456 84 metres. You could make the number more memorable by using two sign 1.5.1 Try some yourself 1 Round 2098 765 (a) to 1 s.f. (b) to 2 s.f. (c) to 3 s.f. (d) to 4 s.f.
Activity 7: Completing a table
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Example 4
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