Becoming an Act of Parliament.

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Majad Saleem

Sources of Law-Assignment 1

             Parliament consists of three distinct elements; the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch. Before any legislative proposal, known at that stage as a Bill can become an Act of Parliament it must proceed through, and be approved by both Houses of Parliament and must receive the Royal Assent. Delegated legislation is of particular importance. Generally speaking, delegated legislation is law made by some person or body to whom Parliament has delegated its general law making power. Delegated legislation has the same degree of legal force and effect as the Act of Parliament under which it was enacted. During the course of this essay I will compose an evaluation of both, the legislative process and delegated legislation, highlighting their relative merits and limitations within the English legal system today.

             When a Bill is introduced to the House of Commons, it undergoes five distinct procedures: the first reading, second reading, committee stage, report stage and finally the third reading. The first reading is purely a formal procedure in which the title of the Bill is read and a date set for its second reading. The second reading is when the general principles of the Bill undergo extensive debate. This is the critical stage in the process of a Bill. At the end, a vote may be taken on its merits and, if approved, it will find its way on to the next stage. The committee stage is where the Bill is passed to after the second reading. A standing committee have the job of considering the provisions of the Bill in detail, clause by clause. The committee has the power to amend it in such a way, as to, ensure that it is in conformity with the general approval given by the House at its second reading. The report stage, at this point the standing committee reports the Bill back to the House for consideration of any amendments made during the committee stage. The third reading is when further debate may take place during this stage, but it is restricted to matters relating to the content of the Bill and questions relating to the general of the Bill cannot be raised. When a Bill has passed all these stages, it is passed to the House of Lords for its consideration. The above procedures are repeated in this House unless the Bill began here, in which case it would pass to the Commons. After the Bill passes all stages in both Houses, it proceeds on to, for Royal Assent. This is when the monarch gives the final approval, by signing and authorising the Bill, thus converting the Bill to an act and bringing it into effect. The Royal Assent is mere formality today, and the Bill, by convention of both Houses, cannot be refused, as it would place the constitutional position of the monarchy in jeopardy.

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            Most Bills are proposals by the government, but it is also possible for a member of parliament to propose a Bill. This is what is known as, a Private Member’s Bill. Members of Parliament can do this in one of three ways. They are; the ballot procedure, by means of 20 back-bench members get the right to propose legislation on the 10 Fridays in each parliamentary session, specifically set aside to consider such proposals. Secondly under Standing Order 39 this permits any member to present a Bill after the 20 balloted Bills have ...

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