Chapter 3: Acts of Parliament

Introduction to Acts of Parliament

The constitutional role of the Parliament is to make legislation, to scrutinise the
executive and to control national finance.
The instrument or the product of the Parliament is known as the recognised in law
as being able to challenge the Act – Pickins v British Railway Board 1974.
L. Morris said: ‘… when an enactment is passed, there is finality unless and until it is
amended or repealed by Parliament.”
An Act of Parliament is also known as legislation, primary legislation and statute.
The method of judicial law making through precedents is not suitable for major
changes to the law, nor is it a sufficiently quick, efficient law-making method for a
modern society.
Judges are also not elected by the people, which do not support the idea of a
democratic nation.
The view is that laws should only be mad by the elected representatives of society –
the parliament. So, today, the main legislative body in UK is Parliament.
Laws passed by the Parliament are known as Acts of Parliament or statutes. About
40 to 80 Acts are passed each year since the Parliament is only open for 160 days,
and 60 days are used for making law.
Why does Parliament only open for such a short amount of time?
All MPs come from different areas of England.
To gather them takes time, and all MPs need to have time to care for their personal
matters too.
Therefore, the Parliament is opened for a limited amount of days.
In addition to Parliament as a whole body enacting law, power is delegated to
government ministers and their departments to make detailed rules and
regulations, which are supplements to Acts of Parliament – these are delegated
legislation.
Primary and Secondary Legislation
‘Legislation’ is a very broad term describing all the law made by, or under powers
granted by, the UK Parliament.
Legislation made by Parliament itself, in the form of ‘Acts of Parliament’, is
described as ‘primary’ legislation because it is the highest form of UK law.
Legislation made by other bodies under powers granted to them by Parliament is
known as ‘secondary’ or ‘delegated’ legislation.
However, primary legislation is not necessarily more important than secondary
legislation.
Constitutionally Parliament is supreme:
Parliament can make and enact any law.
No one can question the validity of an Act of Parliament.
An earlier parliament cannot bind a later parliament.
Why Parliament is supreme in the UK:
1. In most countries in the world, the highest source of law is a written constitution,
a product of independence or revolution – this means that all laws passed by
Parliament cannot go against the written constitution.
2. If it does, it is null and void.
3. A constitution is given respect, but this can depend on how old it is and how
many times it has been changed.
4. In the UK, there is no written constitution. In the absence of a written
constitution, Parliament is supreme.
Very often the ‘law’ on a particular subject comprises a combination of primary and
secondary legislation, and it is necessary to be aware of both.
Typically, where this does occur, primary legislation will lay down a framework of
general principles and rules with the secondary legislation providing more details.
The most significant difference between primary and secondary legislation, i.e.
statute and delegated legislation, is that whilst the latter can be subjected to
‘judicial review’ in the courts, Acts of Parliament are immune from challenge in the
courts.
When the provisions of an Act conflict with a ‘directly effective’ provision of
European Union (EU) law, the latter has to be enforced instead – a concept known
as the ‘supremacy’ or ‘primacy’ of EU law.
The Parliament
The UK Parliament has three main functions:
a. To make law – Parliament passes the laws by which the country operates
b. To provide a forum in which the actions and policies of the government may be
publicly scrutinised
c. To deal with public finance – the government raises money by Acts of Parliament
Parliament consists of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and most
importantly the Queen in Parliament.
Under normal procedure both Houses must vote in favour of a Bill before it can
become a new Act of Parliament.
The people who sit in the House of Commons are referred to as Members of
Parliament (MPs).
The public elects these members of the House of Commons, with the country being
divided into constituencies and each of this returning one Member of Parliament
(MP).
Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 there must be a general election every
five years. In addition, there may be individual by-elections in constituencies where
the MP has died or retired during the current session of Parliament.
Constituency is a body of voters in a specified area who elect a representative to a
legislative body.
Why does the UK have two chambers of Parliament – bicameval:
This is because of the main issue of balance of power.
If the members elected by the public abuse their power in making law, the House of
Lords, an independent group, can send the bills back for amendments.
But the power to reject a bill of the Commons does not belong to the House of
Lords.
‘Parliament’ should not be confused with ‘government’. The UK government is,
generally speaking, formed by the political party, which secured the most seats in
the House of Commons at the last general election.
In theory, the most important of these bodies is the Queen; in practice, however,
the real power lies with the House of Commons as the only directly elected body in
Parliament.
Most legislation originates from the government and is introduced first into the
House of Commons, where it is known as a bill.
In certain circumstances, the Commons has the power to legislate without the
consent of the House of Lords – but the converse situation does not apply.
The House of Lords used to have the power to veto any bills sent to it by the House
of Commons.
This power is now limited to a temporary veto following the enactment of the
Parliament Acts.
Bills
The government introduces the great majority of Acts of Parliament – lawyers in the
civil service who are known as Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury initially draft
these.
Instructions as to what are to be included and the effect the proposed law is
intended to have are given to the government department responsible for it.
When the proposed Act has been drafted it is published, and at this stage is called a
Bill. It will only become an Act of Parliament if it successfully completes all the
necessary stages in Parliament.
Even at this early stage there are difficulties, as the draftsmen face problems in
trying to frame the Bill.
It has to be drawn up so that it represents the government’s wishes, while at the
same time using correct legal wording so that there will not be any difficulties in the
courts applying it.
It must be unambiguous, precise and comprehensive. Achieving all of these is not
easy, and there may be unforeseen problems with the language used, as discussed
on statutory interpretation.
There is usually pressure on time, as the government will have a timetable of when
they wish to introduce the draft Bill into Parliament.
Types of Bills
1. Public Bills
A public Bill involves matters of public policy, which will affect either the whole
country or a large section of it.
Most of the government Bills are in this category, e.g. the Criminal Justice Act 2003,
the constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Legal Services Act 2007, and the Legal Aid,
Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
The Process in Parliament (for Public Bills)
In order to become an Act of Parliament, the Bill will usually have to be passed by
both Houses of Parliament, and in each House there is a long and complex process.
A Bill may start in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, with the
exception of finance Bills which must start in the House of Commons.
All Bills must go through the stages listed in the diagram below.
Procedure Notes
s

First -Formal procedure where the name and main aims of the Bill are
Reading read out.
-Usually no discussion takes place, and usually there will be no vote.

Second -Main debate on the whole Bill in which MPs debate the principles
Reading behind the Bill

-Debate usually focuses on the main principles rather than the

smaller
details.

-Those MPs who wish to speak in the debate must catch the
Speaker’s
eye, since the Speaker controls all debates and no one may speak
without being called on by the Speaker.

-At the end of this is a vote, which may be verbal, when the
members
shout out ‘Aye’ or ‘No’

-If it is unclear, they will do a more formal vote, where members of

the
House vote by leaving the Chamber and then walking back in
through
 one of two special doors on one side or the other of the Chamber.

-There will be two ‘tellers’ positioned at each of these two voting

doors
to make a list of the Members voting on each side.

-These tellers count up the number of MPs who voted for and against
and declare these numbers to the Speaker in front of the members
of
the House.

-Obviously there must be a majority in favour for the Bill to progress

any further.

Committe -At this stage, a detailed examination of each clause of the Bill is
e undertaken by a committee of between 16 and 50 MPs.
stage
-This is usually done by what is called a Standing Committee – a
committee chosen specifically for that Bill.

-Membership of such a committee is decided ‘having regard to

Qualifications of those members nominated and to the composition
of
the House.

-Although the government will have a majority of members, the

opposition and minority parties are represented proportionately to
the number of seats they have in the House of Commons.

-The members of Parliament nominated for each Standing

Committee will usually be those with a special interest in, or
knowledge of, the
subject of the Bill which is being considered.

-For finance Bills the whole House will sit in committee.

Report -At the Committee stage amendments to various clauses in the Bill
Stage may
have been voted on and passed, so this report stage is where the
committee reports back to the House on those amendments.

-If there were no amendments at the committee Stage, there will not
be
a Report Stage – the Bill will go on to Third Reading.

-The amendments will be debated in the house – to accept or reject.

-Further amendments will be added.

 -Described as ‘a useful safeguard against a small Committee
amending
a Bill against the wishes of the House, and a necessary opportunity
for
second thoughts.

Third -Final vote on the Bill

Reading
-Almost a formality since a Bill which has passed through all stages
above is unlikely to fail

-In the House of Commons, there will only be an actual further

debate on the Bill as a whole if at least six MPs request it

-However, in the House of Lords, there may sometimes be

amendments
made at this stage

Passing to -If the Bill started life in the House of Commons, it will go to the
different House of Lords to go through the five stages above
House
-If it is from the House of Lords, it will go to the House of Commons
and undergo the same five procedures again

Royal -The monarch formally gives approval to the Bill and it then becomes
assent an Act of Parliament

-This is now a formality and, under the Royal Assent Act 1967, the
monarch will not even have the text of the Bills to which she is
assenting; she will only have the short title

-The last time a monarch refused assent was in 1707, when Queen
Anne refused to assent to the Scottish Militia Bill

2. Private Bills
However, not all Bills are aimed at changing the law for the entire country; some
are designed to pass a law, which will affect only individual people or corporations.
An example of this was the University College London Act 1996, which was passed
in order to combine the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, the Institute of
Neurology, and the Institute of Child Health with University College.
Procedures:
1. Standing Order 39 (after 20 balloted bills have been presented, members can
present a Bill) OR Standing Rule 13 (10-minute rule procedure that allows members
to make a speech to introduce the bill)
2. Follows the procedures of Public Bills
3. Private Members’ Bills
Bills can also be sponsored by individual MPs. The parliamentary process allows for
a ballot, each parliamentary session in which 20 private members are selected who
can then take their turn in presenting a Bill to Parliament.
Ballot is a process of voting, typically in secret. But in the context of voting for
private members’ bills, it is a parliamentary session in which 20 private members
are selected who can then take their turn in presenting a Bill to Parliament.
The time for debate of Private Members’ Bills is limited, usually being debated only
on Fridays, so that only the first six or seven members in the ballot have a realistic
chance of introducing a Bill on their chosen topic.
Relatively few Private Members’ Bills become law, but there have been some
important laws passed as the result of such Bills:
1. Abortion Act 1967 – legalised abortion in this country
2. Marriage Act 1994 – introduced by Giles Brandreth, the MP for Chester; allowed
people to marry in any registered place, not only in register offices or religious
buildings
3. Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 – places local authorities under a duty to
recycle waste
Backbenchers can also try to introduce a Bill through the ’10-minute’ rule, under
which any MP can make a speech of up to 10 minutes supporting the introduction of
new legislation.
A backbencher is a Member of Parliament (MP) or a legislator who holds no
governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being
instead simply a member of the "rank and file".
This method is rarely successful unless there is no opposition to the Bill, but some
Acts of Parliament have been introduced in this way, e.g. the Bail (Amendment) Act
1993 which gave the prosecution the right to appeal against the granting of bail to
a defendant.
Members of the House of Lords can also introduce Private Members’ Bills.
There are 3 ways to introduce a private-member bill:
1. Ballot procedure where 20 back-bench members get the right to propose
legislation on Fridays
2. Standing Order 39
3. Standing Rule 13
4. Hybrid Bills
These are bills that are public but only affects private interests. These are sent to
the Public Bills Office.
If the office considers the Bill should be examined by the office of private bill, it will
be sent there where 2 examiners of private bills will examine it and subject to the
remaining parliamentary procedure.
Procedures:
1. Standing Order
2. 2nd reading
3. select committee
4. committee stage
5. report stage
6. 3rd reading
7. House of Lords
8. Royal Assent

The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949

The power of the House of Lords to reject a Bill is limited by the Parliament Acts
1911 and 1949. These allow a Bill to become a law even if House of Lords rejects it,
provided that the Bill is reintroduced into the House of Commons in the next session
of Parliament and passes all the stages again there.
The principle behind the Parliament Acts is that the House of Lords is not an elected
body, and its function is to refine and add to the law rather than appose the will of
the democratically elected House of Commons. In fact there have only been four
occasions when this procedure has been used to by-pass the House of Lords after it
had voted against a Bill.
Since 1949, the Parliament Acts have been used on only 4 occasions:
-War Crimes Act 1991
-European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999
-Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
-Hunting Act 2004

Evaluation of the Legislative Process

Benefits of the Legislative Process Drawbacks of the Legislative Process

-Ensures participation of the society in -Very long, complex and time-

the law-making function. consuming

-Gives sufficient publicity so the public -Lack commitment, only 60 days are for
can suggest changes to Bills in government bills
Parliament – allows indirect
participation. -Lay MPs lack technical knowledge to
make law about technical matters
-Supreme and its validity cannot be
questioned by anyone except a future -Public outcry for new legislation is
Parliament. often
not satisfied
-Makes law according to social needs by
introducing new social legislation. -Public demand and expectation exceed
the amount of bills made per year.
-Brings about consolidation of existing
statutory provisions on a particular -Drafters of legislation tended to adopt
topic. a
certain style in their language and
-Brings about the unification of common employed a grammatical structure that
law and statutory rules by way of was too complex to be understood
codification.