4.12.2 Expertise Delegated legislation by its very nature concerns specialist technical and/or local knowledge. So it is an advantage for such specialist provisions to be dealt with by those who have this knowledge rather than by Members of Parliament who generally would not have the required specialist or local knowledge.
4.12.1 Time Delegated legislation is far quicker to introduce than an Act of Parliament. This can be an advantage in instances when emergencies or unforeseen problems require laws to be changed. The use of delegated legislation also saves parliamentary time. The detail of the delegated legislation can be dealt with by the appropriate minister, leaving Parliament as a whole more time to focus on the general principles of the enabling Act.
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
4.10 Parliamentary control Initially, Parliament has control in that the enabling or parent Act passed by Parliament sets out the framework or parameters within which delegated legislation is made. In addition, there are scrutiny committees in both Houses of Parliament whose role is to consider the delegated powers proposed by a Bill. However, these committees have limited power. European legislation is considered by a specific committee and local authority byelaws are usually subject to the approval of the Department
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
4.5 Byelaws Byelaws can be made by local authorities and certain other public corporations and companies concerning issues within the scope of their geographic or other areas of responsibility. So, a County Council can make byelaws affecting the whole county, whilst a District or Town Council can only make byelaws for the district or town. Byelaws are usually created when there is no general legislation that deals with an issue that concerns people in a local area. If a council wishes to make a byelaw it
4.4 Statutory Instruments The vast majority of delegated legislation is in the form of Statutory Instruments (SIs). SIs are rules and regulations made by Government ministers acting under the delegated power given to them or their department by Parliament in a broadly drafted parent or enabling Act concerning their area of responsibility, for example, health or transport or education. SIs are normally drafted by the legal department of the minister concerned and are just as much part of the law as their parent or enab
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.
3.1 Types of Bill An Act of Parliament starts off as a Bill. A Bill is a proposal for a new piece of legislation that
2.9 (v) Private Members' Bills Individual Members of Parliament have the power to introduce their own legislation known as a Private Members' Bill. An example of a successful Private Members' Bill which became law is the Marriage Act 1994 introduced by Gyles Brandreth who was MP for Chester at the time. This Act allows people to marry in any registered place, not just a Register Office or religious building. Private Members' Bills may be the result of an MP being approached for support for a proposal put forward by particu
The House of Commons The members of the House of Commons are elected by the public, with the country being divided into constituencies and each of these returning one Member of Parliament (known as an MP). There must be a general election every five years, though an election can be called sooner by the Prime Minister. The Government of the day is generally formed by the political party which has the most MPs elected to the House of Commons. The Prime Minister will usually be the leader of the largest political pa
6.4 How is law made? The Scotland Act 1998 provided minimum requirements for the process which was to be followed by the Parliament in creating law by considering and passing Bills. Section 36(1) of the Scotland Act 1998 required there to be at least three distinct stages to which Bills are subject, including a stage when members can debate and vote on the general principles of the Bill, a stage when they can consider and vote on its details, and a final stage when the Bill can be passed or rejected.
Learning outcomes After studying this unit you should be able to: identify and describe what is meant by a formal rule and understand the problems associated with rule making; explain what is meant by policy and why it is important; understand how formal rules are constructed; explain the difference between specific and general rules, and why the difference matters; explain why the language of formal rules is important; ex
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
3.3 What were the fundamental human rights which required protection? Earlier in this unit you explored why certain rights were considered to be basic human rights. These can be described as those rights of individuals or groups relating to human dignity and fundamental freedoms, which require legal protection from adverse interference by the state, where those rights derive from the fact of being human. Such rights can be traced back to two aspects of international law, namely customary international law and treaty law. The former derives from the customs adop
2.3 The Red Cross Humanitarian law was another area of international growth in the recognition of human rights. It gathered pace in the nineteenth century due to the work of Henri Durant, a Swiss philanthropist. He witnessed several battles where great atrocities were committed by the armies of nation states. These experiences led him to attempt to establish a permanent system for humanitarian relief, where private societies would supplement the work of army medical corps of nation states. In 1863 a conference
Learning outcomes After studying this unit you should: understand the historical growth of the idea of human rights; be aware of the international context of human rights; be aware of the position of human rights in the UK prior to 1998; understand the importance of the Human Rights Act 1998; have practised analysing and evaluating concepts and ideas; have started to see links between the core concepts of rules, rights and
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
Learning outcomes After studying this unit you should be able to: have a basic understanding of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); have an understanding of the European Union (EU); acquire a basic knowledge about the EU institutions; acquire an understanding of the sources of EU law; acquire a knowledge of the interaction between EU law and domestic law.
