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AC 1.1- describe processes used for law making - Coggle Diagram
AC 1.1- describe processes used for law making
Government
to run the country - formed by the political party that has a majority of the 650 MPs
a proposal for a new law is called a Bill
this must be agreed by everyone before it can become a law
Green paper =
it is an initial report to provoke public discussion of the subject
this is created before being put before Parliament
White paper =
a document setting out their detailed plans for legislation
is created after the green paper
a draft version of the Bill
Parliament
the monarch (the queen or king)
currently King Charles
only have a formal role in law-making
they give the royal assent
the House of Commons
most important part of parliament because it is made up of the elected representatives of the people
there are 650 members of parliament
each one is elected at a general election to represent a constituency
the House of Lords
member of the lords are called peers and there is around 800 of them
includes the Church of England bishops and archbishops
their role is to act as a double check on new laws
Stages of the Bill
1) First reading =
the government introduces the Bill into the Commons or Lords
it is the first formal announcement of the Bill and is followed by a vote to allow it to move onto a new stage
2) Second reading =
the main principles are considered and debated by the whole of the Commons and a vote is taken
the government will always have a majority support of MP's
they will usually win the vote and the Bill will move onto the next stage
3) The committee stage -
it is examined in detail by a small committee made up of different MP's from different parties
the committee will report back to the Commons and will propose change to the Bill
4) The report stage =
MP's are given the opportunity to consider the committee report
the Bill is debated and voted on any changes they wish to make
5) Third reading =
this is the final chance for the commons to debate the contents of the Bill
however no amendments are allowed at this stage
6) The Lords =
the Bill will go to the House of Lords where it will go through the exact same process as it did in the House of Commons
if the Lords choose to amend the Bill, they have to send it back to the Commons where they will make the decision to accept or reject the amendments
the commons will have the final say because of who it is made up of
7) Royal Assent =
it will go to the monarch for signing - the monarch's agreement to make the Bill into the Act of Parliament or law
it will go into force immediately unless there is a particular state date later on
Judicial precedent
a source of law making where the past decisions of judges create law for future judges to follow
Precedent =
involves following the decisions that have been made by judges in previous similar cases
magistrates court --> crown court --> court of appeal --> supreme court
Distinguishing = a precedent from a earlier case is only binding on a present case if the legal principle involved is the same and if the facts are similar in both cases
the judges finds the facts from the present case are different enough from the earlier one to allow them to reach a different decision and to not have to follow the precedent from an earlier case
Overruling = where a court higher up the hierarchy states that the legal decision in an earlier case is wrong and overturns it
Statutory interpretation
judges can make law by the way they interpret the statutes or Acts of Parliament
Statute = a written law where judges need to interpret the meaning of its words by applying them to a case they are judging
three rules
The literal rule =
judges should use everyday, ordinary meaning of the words in a statute
one problem with this is that a word can have different meanings
the golden rule =
allows the court to modify the literal meaning of the word
the mischief rule =
allows the court to enforce what the statute was intended to achieve, rather than what the words actually say