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Parliamentary Law Making - Adv and Disav (Advantages (an Act cannot be…
Parliamentary Law Making - Adv and Disav
Advantages
law made in parliament is democratic because it is made by our elected representatives
MPs are elected to the HC by the citizens of the UK every 5 years
the public controls the appointment of MPs
an Act cannot be made without consultation and debate on proposed changes to the law
before a bill is presented, the consultation process allows interested people and groups to raise objections and put forward amendments
the bill will also be discussed by Parliament in detail as it passes through both Houses
e.g. European Union (Withdrawal) Bill
Acts can reform whole areas of the law in one statute
the Fraud Act 2006 abolished various outdated criminal offences of fraud and deception and replaced them with clearer modern offences
in contrast, judges can only develop the law on specific legal points that they are dealing with in a particular case
law made by parliament is wide-ranging and certain because of the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy
Acts can be made on any subject-matter and an Act cannot be abolished or over-ruled by the courts, or by any other method except another Act of Parliament
Disadvantages
parliamentary law making is slow, so parliament cannot react quickly to an issue
the parliamentary process is lengthy and includes different reading, committee and report stages on the HC and the HL
e.g. European Union (Withdrawal) Bill
parliament does not have sufficient time to deal with all proposed changes to the law, especially changes concerning detailed substantive points of law
e.g. criminal offences
a 2015 Law Commission report recommended comprehensive changes to the law on non-fatals, as based on previous unimplemented Law Commission and government proposals made in the 90s
the proposed bill still has yet to be put before parliament
acts of parliament are long and complex
makes statutes difficult to understand and makes the law less accessible to ordinary people
it also means that there are disputes over the meaning of words in statutes, requiring the courts to become involved in statutory interpretation
e.g. Smith v Hughes
parliament is not entirely a democratic institution so statutes are no entirely made by a democratic process
Members of the HL are not elected by the people
most are life peers who are appointed by the government
e.g. David Cameron created 13 new Conservative peers in the HL as one of his final acts