Parliament
These cards contain all you need to know for a parliament question
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- Created by: angie
- Created on: 13-01-10 15:06
House of Commons
The House of Commons
- The dominant chamber of parliament as it is elected.
- 646 Mp's sit
- Starts most of the legislation.
- Has the ability to over-rule the decision in the House of Lords.
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House of Lords
House of Lords
- This is the inferior chamber as members are appointed.
- They can start legislation but generally amend it.
- It can be veoted (over ruled) by the house of commons. They can delay for 12 months however.
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The monarchy
The crown (Queen)
- The Queen has a ceremonial role only.
- She formally enacts a bill by signing it.
- It becomes law at midnight on the day of the signing.
- Also known as 'Royal Assent'
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Types of bills - Introduced by
Government bills
- These are outlined in the Queen's speech at opening of parliament.
- Bills bought to governement by governement lawyers, also known as the 'treasury counsel'.
Private member's bill
- Introduced by individual MPs
- They must win a ballot to win chance to present the bill.
- Only 6 or 7 can be presented each year realistically.
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The bills can be either...
Public bills
- These laws affect everyone.
- For example, The Access to Justice Act 1999 concerns everyone that would like to go to court.
Private bills
- These bills affect certain institutions.
- For example, University College London Act 1996 merged medical institutions.
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Influences on Parliament
The Law Commission
- It is a full time advisory, set up in 1965.
- Consists of a Chairman who is a high court judge and four other commissioners.
- It works by considering areas of law that need reform.
- It was successful within its first 10 years.
- It came up with 20 law reforms in 2 years.
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Influences on Parliament
Pressure Groups
- These are groups that concern themselves with one issue.
- They do not try to get elected.
Insider groups: They have good contacts in government. They rely on lobbying MPs eg: NSPCC
Outsider groups: They tend to rely on the media, public campaigns to make their views known eg: Greenpeace.
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Influences on Parliament
Royal Commissions
- They are set up to investigate and report one specific area of the law.
- They are dissolved after they have completed their task.
- Members are selected from judges, lawyers, and others with knowledge of the subject.
- Some royal commissions led to important changes in the law, for example The Police procedure 1981
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Parliamentary Sovereignty
Parliamentary Sovereignty
- This means supreme law maker.
- It is sovereign because it is democratically elected by the whole of the UK in the name of the Queen.
- It means that it has more political legitimacy than any other body in the UK.
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Limitations of Parliamentary Sovereignty - Europea
European Union
- The European Communities Act 1972 states that all european treaties become UK law.
- The case of Factortame established that EU law was superior to UK law.
- This means that acts of Parliament can be over-ruled by Europe.
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Limitations of Parliamentary Sovereignty-The human
The Human Rights Act 1998
- In 1998, the government formally incorporated the Europan convention of human rights into UK law.
- It outlined rights that all UK citizens could have eg: a right to life.
- This means unless the act is repealed, it would be impossible for parliament to pass a law reintroducing the death penalty.
- It states a right to a fair trial, this is why judges must have no vested interest in a case.
- The act effectively binds later parliaments.
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Limitations of Parliamentary Sovereignty - Politic
Political Pressure
- Politicians are always conscious of the next election.
- Therefore they are unlikely to do something which would make them unpopular.
- For example, a reluctancy to bring about the european constitution.
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