PARLIAMENT AND LEGISLATION

1. PARLIAMENT AND LEGISLATION Unit 9

2. Preview • 1. Introduction: statute, legislation, parliament • 2. Common law vs. Statute law • 3. Parliamentary sovereignty • 3. Parliament: functions, composition • 4. House of Commons: elections • 5. House of Lords: hereditary peers, life peers • 6. Law-making procedure • 7. Types of bills • 8. Statute book • 9. Legal terms • 10. Exercises

3. Statute: Definition An established written law, an Act of Parliament 60-70 Acts passed each year

4. Statute law • Laws passed by Parliamnet: Acts of Parliament or statutes

5. Parliament: Definition • Elected group of representatives who form the legislative body which votes the laws of a country

6. Parliament • The only body which has the right to enact a new law, or alter or reverse a law which Parliament itself has passed • Any law passed by Parliament which clashes with, or alters or reverses any part of the common law automatically takes precedence

7. Legislation • 1. The process of making or enacting a positive law in written form, according to some type of formal procedure, by a branch of government constituted to perform this process; laws, considered collectively • Also: lawmaking; law enactment • Translation equivalents: • Zakonodavstvo; donošenje zakona; zakoni

8. Common law vs. statute law • In today’s world: a need for new law to meet new situations • Precedent – not suitable for major changes to the law, nor is it sufficiently quick, efficient law-making method for a modern society

9. Common law vs. statute law • Judges - not elected by the people • In a democracy, laws should only be made by the elected representatives of society • The main legislative body in the UK: Parliament

10. Common law v. Statute law

11. Parliamentary Sovereignty • Parliament is legislatively supreme and can make and unmake (=repeal) laws to any extent • Any Act passed by Parliament which is of general application is absolutely binding on all persons within the sphere of Parliament’s jurisdiction

12. Parliamentary Sovereignty • However controversial a statute may be, a judge is bound to enforce its provisions, although there may be some scope for judges to interpret a new statute in a particular way

13. Parliamentary sovereignty • Parliamentary sovereignty -the most important principle of the UK constitution. • It makes Parliament the supreme legal authority in the UK, which can create or end any law. • Generally, the courts cannot overrule its legislation and no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change.

14. Parliamentary sovereignty and the UK constitution • UK has an 'unwritten constitution' • It may not exist in a single text, like in the but large parts of it are written down, much of it in the laws passed in Parliament - known as statute law. • UK constitution - often described as 'partly written and wholly uncodified'. (Uncodified means that the UK does not have a single, written constitution.)

15. Limitations of parliamentary sovereignty • Parliament has passed laws that limit the application of parliamentary sovereignty: • The devolution of power to bodies like the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. • The Human Rights Act 1998. • The UK's entry to the European Union in 1972. • The decision to establish a UK Supreme Court in 2009, which ends the House of Lords function as the UK's final court of appeal.

16. Developments affecting parliamentary sovereignty • These developments do not fundamentally undermine the principle of parliamentary sovereignty, since, in theory at least, Parliament could repeal any of the laws implementing these changes.

17. Functions of Parliament • To pass laws • To provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government • To scrutinise government policy and administration • To debate the major issues of the day

18. The UK Parliament • The Queen • The House of Commons • The House of Lords

19. The House of Commons • Elected by universal adult suffrage • The chief officer of the House of Commons – the Speaker, elected by MPs to preside over the House

20. Elections • The UK: 650 geographical parts: constituencies • At least once every five years a General Election is held • Those who wish to stand for Parliament are called candidates

21. Elections • The candidate who gets the most votes in a constituency is elected to become its MP • Most MPs belong to political parties (Conservative, Labour, or Liberal Democrat MP)

22. Elections • Candidates – voted for as individuals • If for instance a Labour MP resigns or dies while in office, another Labour candidate will not automatically take over; there must be a new election in this constituency (by-election)

23. Elections • Each political party – manifesto: a document setting out its aims and the policies it proposes to implement to achieve them

24. Elections • The party with an overall majority of MPs - asked by the Queen to form the Government • Prime Minister is appointed to lead the Government • S/he forms his Cabinet from the important members of his party

25. Elections • When no one party has a sufficient majority, or when a national emergency occurs, a coalition government may be formed by two or more parties temporarily uniting • The Cabinet forms its policies and turns to legislation as the means of carrying the policies into effect, e.g. The Local Government Act, 1972

26. Devolution • The transfer of power from a central government to subnational (e.g. regional, or local) authorities. • occurs through statutes rather than through a change in a country’s constitution;

27. Devolution • Unitary systems of government that have devolved powers are still considered unitary rather than federal systems, because the powers of the subnational authorities can be withdrawn by the central government at any time. • Devolution puts power closer to the citizen so that local factors are better recognised in decision-making.

28. UK parliament and devolution • The UK Parliament has MPs from areas across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. • In addition, there is a Parliament in Scotland, a National Assembly in Wales and a National Assembly in Northern Ireland.

29. Devolved parliaments • Separate elections are held for these devolved political bodies (which have been granted powers on a regional level that the UK Parliament was formerly responsible for) - candidates who win seats in these elections do not become MPs in the UK Parliament.

30. Working in parliament • MPs split their time between working in Parliament, working in their constituency and working for their political party

31. Working in Parliament • Some MPs from the governing party (or parties) become government ministers with specific responsibilities in certain areas, such as Health or Defence.

32. Working in Parliament • When Parliament is sitting (meeting), MPs generally spend their time working in the House of Commons. • This can include raising issues affecting their constituents, attending debates and voting on new laws.

33. Working in Parliament • Most MPs are also members of committees, which look at issues in detail, from government policy and new laws, to wider topics such as human rights.

34. Working in Parliament • In their constituency, MPs often hold a 'surgery' in their office, where local people can come along to discuss any matters that concern them.

35. Working in Parliament • MPs also attend functions, visit schools and businesses and generally try to meet as many people as possible. This gives MPs further insight and context into issues they may discuss when they return to Westminster.

36. The House of Lords • Lords Spiritual • Lords Temporal

37. Lords Spiritual • Archbishops of Canterbury and York and leading Bishops, representatives of the Church of England (26 in total)

38. Lords Temporal • Hereditary Peers • Life Peers

39. Hereditary peers • Those whose titles are passed down from generation to generation • ‘peers by succession’ – they have succeeded to the titles of their ancestors

40. The House of Lords Act 1999 • Hereditary peers lost the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords; 92 hereditary peers allowed to remain in the House for a transitional period • A small number have been made Life Peers

41. Life Peers (cc. 700) • Peers for their lifetime; cannot pass their titles on to their children • Distinguished in politics, education, business, law, arts, etc. • Membership in the House of Lords: a wide range of highly talented people

42. The House of Lords • Not able to change or delay any laws which relate to finance and taxation • Power to hold up legislation of which they disapprove for a certain period of time • Power to check, influence or alter legislation

43. The Monarch • The Monarch is an integral part of the legislature. • Functions of the monarch in Parliament include summoning, proroguing and dissolving Parliament, and giving royal assent to Bills passed by Parliament.

44. Answer the following: • What is the UK divided into? • What kind of a body is the House of Commons? • What happens if an MP dies or retires? • Which are main political parties in the UK? • What are life peers?

45. Answer the following • What are the functions of the monarch in Parliament? • What does it mean that a constitution is unwritten? • Can Parliament repeal any law? • Can courts overrule laws passed by Parliament? • When was the Supreme Court of the UK established?

46. Provide the terms matching the following definitions • Critical observation or examination • Scrutiny • Making laws • Legislation • To choose (someone) to hold public office or some other position by voting. • elect

47. Provide the terms matching the following definitions • an area whose voters elect a representative to a legislative body • Constituency • an election held in a single political constituency to fill a vacancy arising during a government's term of office. • By-election

48. Provide the terms matching the following definitions • the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration • Devolution • MPs who are elected for their lifetime • Life peers

49. Provide the terms matching the following definitions • a person who lives somewhere permanently or on a long-term basis • Resident • Holder of hereditary title • Hereditary peer • to order someone to come to or be present at a particular place, or to officially arrange a meeting of people • summon

50. Provide the terms matching the following definitions • discontinue a session of (a parliament or other legislative assembly) without dissolving it • Prorogue • close down or dismiss (an assembly or official body). • dissolve