What you need to know

• How an Act of Parliament is made

• Types of bill

• Advantages and disadvantages of this type of law making

Acts of Parliament

• What is an Act of Parliament?– An Act is a Bill that has successfully passed

through the necessary stages in Parliament– A great deal of Acts of Parliament are

introduced by the government– Acts of Parliament overrule Judicial Precedent

• For example, the Law reform Act of 1996 (year and a day rule).

Bills and Legislation

• When the proposed Act has been drafted, it is published, and at this stage it is known as a Bill.

• The Bill will only become Law if it successfully completes all the necessary stages in Parliament

From Bill to Act

• First Reading: A formal introduction to the Bill, where the title of the Bill and it’s main aims are read out

• Second Reading: The main debate on the Bill, followed by a vote; the Bill must get a majority vote to go any further

• Committee Stage: A standing committee examines the Bill (between 16 – 50 MP’s) clause by clause, and amendments are made

From Bill to Act

• Report Stage: This stage only occurs if amendments are made in the committee stage, but will go straight to…

• Third Reading: The final debate and vote. The Bill is unlikely to fail at this stage

• Royal Assent: A mere formality nowadays, the last Bill refused assent by a Monarch was in 1707

In Summary

• A Bill can only become an Act if it successfully goes through the various stages of both houses of Parliament.

• There are three different types of Bill :

Public/ government

Private member’s

Private

Criticisms of The Process

“I would wish that… the superfluous and tedious statutes were brought together, and made more plain and short, to the intent that men might better understand them”

[Edward VI, 400 years ago]

Advantages to the process

• The lengthy process makes it possible to spot mistakes

• Amendments can be made at various stages throughout the process

• A more objective view is supported by the number of viewers and editors.

• Contingencies can be covered.

Disadvantages to the process

• The Bill can get confusing with the amount of editing and amendments

• The standing committee is not, as it states, a standing committee. The MP’s involved have a vested interest in the Bill, making it possible for bias

• The language and structure of the Bill can be very confusing

Criticisms of The Process

• The Renton Committee (1975), said there were four main areas for complaint– The Language used in many Acts was obscure

and complex– Acts were over elaborate because every

contingency was planned for– Illogical structure, with sections seeming to be

out of sequence making it hard to find relevant sections

– Little or no clear connection between Acts, making it difficult to people to find relevant connections.