Parliament
Legislation - Law made either through an Act of Parliament or by local councils in the form of
delegated legislation
Case/common law - law which is made by judges every time they come to a binding decision in
a case
The UK parliament is the highest law-making body in the jurisdiction and is made up of the
sovereign/ monarch, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons
The Houses of Parliament
The House of Commons is made up of 650 MPs who are elected every 5 years to represent
their various constituencies during a general election
The House of Lords are not democratically elected. They are known as peers and are
nominated to to sit for life in the House of Lords by the House of Lords Appointment
Commission.
Lords may be selected on the basis of a number of factors including their influence on society,
their knowledge or their background
Lord Peerages are also hereditary (the role can be passed down through the family).
Bishops and retired Justices of the Appeal and Supreme Courts also sit in the House of Lords.
The parliament Acts and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 provide for the procedures to be followed in parliament.
They give more power to the elected MPs over the House of Lords e.g. under the Parliament
Act 1911 the House of Lords lost their right to veto a Bill).
The House of Commons can over-rule or by-pass the House of Lords and present a Bill to be
passed into full legislation by Royal Assent without the House of Lords approval. (The reverse is
never the case).
The Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 modified the office of Lord Chancellor and made
changes to the way some of his functions are exercised.
Until 2006 the head of judiciary was the Lord Chancellor, who is also a Central Cabinet minister
chosen by the Prime Minister.
, The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 removed the Lord Chancellor as head of judiciary, and
shared that responsibility with the separate post of Secretary of State for Justice.
The Separation of Powers
This principle originates from the French philosopher who argued that all state power should be
divided into three different branches so each can act as a check and balance on others, to
prevent tyranny developing in any one of them.
“When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person or same body…there
can be no liberty”- Montesquieu
Montesquieu advocated a model in which the power to run the State would be divided equally
between three separate institutions: each performing their own independent function s, and
exercising checks and balances over each other.
Legislative branch - with responsibility for making law and giving power to the executive.
Parliamentary Sovereignty
Is a constitutional principle which makes Parliament the supreme legal authority in the UK, with
the power to create, change or end any law it wants to- including that of past parliaments.
If parliament is sovereign, it can end any acts of previous parliament. All it has to do is repeal
the old law.
Similarly parliament cannot pass a law that a future Parliament could not change.
Furthermore, the courts cannot overrule its legislation, because its laws are supreme.
A V Dicey defined parliamentary sovereignty as “the right to make or unmake any law”.
The Palace of Westminster
Two Chamber Assembly – House of Commons and House of Lords
• Elected representatives sit in the House of Commons (includes Prime Minister, senior
members of the cabinet, and occasionally the King).
• A Bill (a proposal for a new piece of legislation – a draft) may be introduced in either House.
Making New Laws: The Legislative Process
Legislation - Law made either through an Act of Parliament or by local councils in the form of
delegated legislation
Case/common law - law which is made by judges every time they come to a binding decision in
a case
The UK parliament is the highest law-making body in the jurisdiction and is made up of the
sovereign/ monarch, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons
The Houses of Parliament
The House of Commons is made up of 650 MPs who are elected every 5 years to represent
their various constituencies during a general election
The House of Lords are not democratically elected. They are known as peers and are
nominated to to sit for life in the House of Lords by the House of Lords Appointment
Commission.
Lords may be selected on the basis of a number of factors including their influence on society,
their knowledge or their background
Lord Peerages are also hereditary (the role can be passed down through the family).
Bishops and retired Justices of the Appeal and Supreme Courts also sit in the House of Lords.
The parliament Acts and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 provide for the procedures to be followed in parliament.
They give more power to the elected MPs over the House of Lords e.g. under the Parliament
Act 1911 the House of Lords lost their right to veto a Bill).
The House of Commons can over-rule or by-pass the House of Lords and present a Bill to be
passed into full legislation by Royal Assent without the House of Lords approval. (The reverse is
never the case).
The Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 modified the office of Lord Chancellor and made
changes to the way some of his functions are exercised.
Until 2006 the head of judiciary was the Lord Chancellor, who is also a Central Cabinet minister
chosen by the Prime Minister.
, The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 removed the Lord Chancellor as head of judiciary, and
shared that responsibility with the separate post of Secretary of State for Justice.
The Separation of Powers
This principle originates from the French philosopher who argued that all state power should be
divided into three different branches so each can act as a check and balance on others, to
prevent tyranny developing in any one of them.
“When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person or same body…there
can be no liberty”- Montesquieu
Montesquieu advocated a model in which the power to run the State would be divided equally
between three separate institutions: each performing their own independent function s, and
exercising checks and balances over each other.
Legislative branch - with responsibility for making law and giving power to the executive.
Parliamentary Sovereignty
Is a constitutional principle which makes Parliament the supreme legal authority in the UK, with
the power to create, change or end any law it wants to- including that of past parliaments.
If parliament is sovereign, it can end any acts of previous parliament. All it has to do is repeal
the old law.
Similarly parliament cannot pass a law that a future Parliament could not change.
Furthermore, the courts cannot overrule its legislation, because its laws are supreme.
A V Dicey defined parliamentary sovereignty as “the right to make or unmake any law”.
The Palace of Westminster
Two Chamber Assembly – House of Commons and House of Lords
• Elected representatives sit in the House of Commons (includes Prime Minister, senior
members of the cabinet, and occasionally the King).
• A Bill (a proposal for a new piece of legislation – a draft) may be introduced in either House.
Making New Laws: The Legislative Process
