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British Parliamentary Papers

British Parliamentary Papers. A Legal Perspective September 2003. British Parliament. House of Commons – 659 Members Prime Minister is a Member of the House of Commons Cabinet Members are MP’s House of Lords – 689 Peers 92 hereditary peers, rest are life peers

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British Parliamentary Papers

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  1. British Parliamentary Papers A Legal Perspective September 2003

  2. British Parliament • House of Commons – 659 Members • Prime Minister is a Member of the House of Commons • Cabinet Members are MP’s • House of Lords – 689 Peers • 92 hereditary peers, rest are life peers • Executive branch and legislative branch are blended

  3. Two types of legislation • Primary legislation • Statutes / Acts • Secondary legislation • Statutory instruments • Equivalent to U.S. federal regulations

  4. British Legislative Process • Bill introduced into either House • First Reading • Second Reading • Committee Stage • Report Stage • Third Reading • Sent to other house (repeat above steps) • Referral back to original house • Royal Assent • More information: UK Parliament Factsheet L1

  5. Acts of Parliament - Sources • 30 – 60 acts passed per year • HMSO web site • http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts.htm • 1998 forward • Public General Acts and Measures

  6. Citation of an Act • Before Jan. 1, 1963 • Parliamentary session of regnal year and chapter number • Example: Bill of Sale Act of 1854, 17 & 18 Vict., ch. 36 • After Jan. 1, 1963 • Year and chapter number • Example: Homelessness Act 2002, c. 7

  7. Sources of Statutes • Halsbury’s Statutes of England and Wales • LexisNexis (commercial) • Historical sources • Statutes of the Realm (1235 – 1713) • Statutes at Large (1714 – 1800s) • Various sets • Public General Acts and Measures (1831 forward)

  8. Sessional Papers • Command Papers • House of Commons Papers • House of Commons Bills • House of Lords Papers and Bills

  9. Command Papers • “By Command of Her Majesty” • Royal Commission reports • Law Commission reports • Statements of government policy • Reports of tribunals or inquiry • State papers / treaties • Command paper number and UK Treaty number

  10. Citation of Command Papers • Currently in Sixth Series • First series – no abbreviation (1833 – 1869) • Second series – C. (1870 – 1899) • Third series – Cd. (1900 – 1918) • Fourth series – Cmd. (1919 – 1956) • Fifth series – Cmnd. (1956 – 1986) • Sixth series – Cm. (1986 - )

  11. Command Paper - Example Jack Straw, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, The United Kingdom in the United Nations, Cm. 5898 (Sept. 2003).

  12. Indexes of Command Papers • Concordance of Command Papers (1833 – 1972) in J.E. Pemberton, British Official Publications (2nd ed.) • Before 1979-80, use the sessional index • After 1979-80, use the command number

  13. House of Commons Papers • Committee Reports • Accounts and Statistics • Selected annual reports required by Parliament • Example: H.C. 1992-93 371, National Audit Office, The Administration of Student Loans

  14. Bills • Draft versions of Acts • Two types • Private Member’s bill • Government bill • First volume(s) of sessional papers • Parliament web site • http://www.parliament.uk/bills/bills.cfm • House of Commons Weekly Bulletin

  15. House of Commons Sessional PapersContents? • 1982 / 1983 – 41 volumes • Bills (Nos. 1 –155) – vol. 1 through 4 • House of Commons Papers – next 29 vols. • Various reports, numbered in sequence • Command Papers – next 7 volumes Ex: Vol. 34 – Cmnds. 8689, 8710-8752 • Index – 1 volume • Subject Index • List of Documents

  16. Parliamentary Debates • Official Report of Debates (Hansard) • First Series (1803 –1820) • Second Series (1820 – 1830) • Third Series (1830 – 1891) • Fourth Series (1892 – 1908) • Fifth Series (1909 – 1981) • Sixth Series (1981 – present) • Parliament web site • http://www.parliament.uk/hansard/hansard.cfm (from 1988 - present)

  17. Voting Records • Votes are called divisions • Aye Lobby and Nay Lobby • Hansard’s Debates • Votes located within the verbatim transcript

  18. Standing Committee Debates • Parliament web site • http://www.parliament.uk/hansard/hansard.cfm • From 1997 - present • Separate print series (Princeton does not own) • Began 1919 - present

  19. Indexes to British Parliamentary Papers • Subject Catalogue of the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (1801 – 1900) • Indexes of Parliamentary Papers (CD ROM) • Covers House of Commons (1801 – 1944/45) and House of Lords (1801 – 1922) • Index to the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (CD-ROM) • Covers 1801 – 1999 / Chadwyck Healey (Not at PU)

  20. BOPCRIS • On the web • http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/ • Covers 1688 – 1995 • Approx. 23,000 key documents of approx. 250,000 documents in total

  21. Other Electronic Indexes • POLIS (1997 -) - http://www.polis.parliament.uk/ • UK Parliament database, free • Includes Hansard’s Debates, Written Questions and Oral Questions • Parlianet (1979 - ) • Fee based bibliographic database with some full text • UKOP (1980 - ) • Fee based bibliographic database of 450,000 + British government publications

  22. Non-Parliamentary Documents • TSO Daily Lists • http://www.tso.co.uk/bookshop/bookstore.asp • Prior to 1972 • HMSO Catalogues • TSO Catalogues

  23. House of Commons Sessional Papers Hansards Halsbury’s Public General Acts and Measures House of Commons Weekly Bulletin Serial Set Congressional Record U.S.C.A. Statutes at Large Thomas at loc.gov US – UK Comparison

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