Parliament consists of the House of Commons and House of Lords. Bills are introduced and debated in both houses before receiving royal assent to become acts. There are several stages of legislative procedure including introduction, committee review, amendments, and debate. Criticisms of the law making process include complex language, over-elaborate acts, and a lack of scrutiny due to time constraints. Parliamentary sovereignty means acts passed by Parliament supersede all other laws, however this has been limited by EU membership and human rights laws.

1. About 60 to 70 Acts of Parliament are passed each year.
1. Parliament
Parliament consists of the House of Commons and House of Lords. The House of
Commons is elected by the public, who vote for MP’s who represent constituencies
(659). There must be a general election once every five years. The Government of
the day is formed by the political party that has the majority in the House of
Commons. The party of government (currently Labour) will consist of members of the
government (about 100 MPs) and backbenchers. There are opposition parties
(currently Conservative and Liberal Democrat).
The House of Lords consists of life peers, hereditary peers, peoples’ peers, judges
and senior bishops. The composition of the Lords is currently under review.
2. Pre-Legislative Procedure
There are a wide range of influences upon Parliament, which will affect the law
making process and the types of law that are passed. Influences include the Law
Commission, Royal Commissions, judicial investigations, political considerations
such as a manifesto and electoral mandate, public opinion, the media, pressure
groups, Europe and the judges.
The first stage of pre-legislative procedure is the consultation process. Consultation
takes place between the sponsoring government departments and other
departments (especially the Treasury). There may also be consultation with outside
organisations. The use of Green Papers as a consultation document was introduced
in 1967 by the then Labour Government. The Minister with responsibility for the
proposed legislation may decide to issue a Green paper. A Green Paper is a
consultation document on a proposal for law reform, in which the Government’s view
of reform is put forward with other alternative proposals. Interested parties are invited
to respond to the relevant Government Department, so that all of the arguments can
be considered and necessary changes can be made to the Government’s proposals.
An recent important Green Paper on education was, "14-19: Extending
Opportunities, Raising Standards"
In addition, or as an alternative, the government publishes a White Paper which
states its decided policy. In effect a white paper is a statement of intended legislation
and may be the subject of parliamentary debate.
The consultation process is extremely valuable as it allows time for mature
consideration. This can prevent ‘knee-jerk’ reactions, which can lead to law being
rushed through Parliament and subsequently being proved to be unworkable. This
occurred with the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

2. 3. Introducing an Act of Parliament
The Government introduces most Acts of Parliament. They are drafted by
parliamentary counsel to the Treasury (lawyers in the civil service). The government
department responsible for the legislation gives instructions as to what is to be
included and the effect the proposed law is intended to have.
An Act of Parliament that has been drafted but not yet passed is known as a Bill.
Before it becomes an Act of Parliament it must be passed by both Houses of
Parliament and receive Royal Assent. The draftsmen face difficulties as the Bill must
reflect the wishes of the Government, but must also use the correct legal wording so
as not to be problematic for the courts. Errors by draftsmen are one of the major
problems in statutory interpretation.
The Bill must be unambiguous, precise and comprehensive. This can be difficult to
achieve and there may be unforeseen problems with the language used. Due to the
Parliamentary timetable and vast legislative programmes, there is usually pressure
on time, which can lead to inadequate consideration of the details of the Bill.
There are a variety of different types of bill that can be introduced in Parliament.
Public Bills
The vast majority of Bills passing through Parliament are Public Bills. Most public
Bills are sponsored by the government and are therefore referred to as ‘government
Bills’. A public Bill involves matters of public policy that will affect either the whole
country or a large section of it. Most of the Government Bills are in this category
including The Disability Discrimination Act 1995, The Criminal Procedure and
Investigations Act 1996, the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Access to Justice
Act 1999. Some types of public bill are introduced in every parliamentary session
such as the Finance Bill, which contains the provisions of the budget. Public Bills
often relate to manifesto promises, but do also deal with emergencies.
Private Bills
Not all legislation is aimed at changing the law for the entire country. Certain
legislation is designed to pass a law that will affect only a particular area, a specific
organisation, or a certain section of the population. Private Bills play only a minor
role in legislation today, but were popular in the 19th
century. An example of a Private
Bill is the Eastbourne Harbour Bill.
Private Member’ Bills
Private Members Bills are introduced and promoted by backbench 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. Only the first six or seven members in the ballot have a realistic chance
of introducing a Bill on their chosen topic. This is mainly due to the time available for

3. debating which is limited, with time usually only being available on Fridays, and
problems if government support is not received.
Relatively few private members’ Bills become law. Between November 1990 and
May 1997, only 173 were successful in that they received Royal Assent. Most of the
successful Bills tend to be either politically uncontentious, or received government
support. However there have been some important laws passed as the result of such
Bills. E.g. The Abortion Act 1967, and the Marriage Act 1994. A recent example is
the Sex Discrimination Amendment Bill 2002.
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. This method is rarely successful unless there is no opposition to the
Bill. However MPs can use the rule to outline the case for a new piece of legislation
and to gain publicity for ideas they wish to express. The Bail (Amendment) Act 1993
was introduced this way.
4. Legislative Procedure in the House of Commons
First Reading
The Bill is formally introduced to allow MPs to consider the proposals before the
second reading. The bill is usually in ‘dummy form’, such as a sheet of paper on
which the title and the name of the member presenting the bill is printed. The
member in charge then moves that the bill be read a second time. There is a vote on
whether the House wants to consider the bill further. The vote may be verbal (‘Aye’
or ‘No’) or formal (MPs must leave the chamber and walk through the appropriate
door, where their vote will be counted).
Second Reading
The second reading does not mean that the bill is actually read but that the aims and
main principles of the Bill are debated. If an MP wishes to speak in the debate, they
must catchy the Speaker’s eye, as the speaker controls all debates, and no-one can
speak without being called upon by the speaker. A committee instead of the whole
House may discuss non-controversial bills. There is a vote at the end of the second
reading and voting is whipped for government bills.
Committee Stage
The details of the Bill are discussed by a standing committee composed of MPs from
different parties roughly in proportion to their numbers in the House. Standing
committees are constituted afresh for each bill and are made up of 16-50 members
nominated by the Committee of selection.
The committee considers the bill clause by clause and amendments are proposed.
The government may attempt to use the ‘guillotine’ (setting time limits to curtail
debate) to ensure completion of this stage.

4. A Committee of the Whole House may be used for very important bills e.g.
constitutional bills and finance bills.
Report Stage
The committee reports to the House, which considers the amendments made at the
committee stage and may make further changes. If there are no amendments then
the stage will not take place. The Report stage has been 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 Reading
The Bill as a whole is debated but only if at least six MPs request it. The third
reading usually takes place together with the report stage. There will be whipped
voting at this stage to ensure the success of the bill. This is the final vote on the bill.
5. Legislative procedure in the House of Lords
The House of Lords is the second chamber of Parliament and acts as a check on the
government. Bills pass through the same five stages in the Lords as in the
Commons, but the committee stage is in the Whole House, rather than in a standing
committee.
The Government can use the stage to tidy up bills, but cannot control the process
like the commons with timetabling or the guillotine.
If the Lords propose amendments, the bill is sent back to the Commons. The
Commons may assent to the changes, dissent (reject) or further amend the bill. This
process is often referred to as ‘ping pong’. Recent examples include the Anti
Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill 2001, and the Police Reform Bill 2002. If the
Commons and Lords cannot agree then the Commons can use the Parliament Acts
1911 and 1949 to pass the bill without the permission of the Lords. This process has
only been used four times (the last time was the War Crimes Act 1991), although the
threat can often be sufficient (Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2000).
6. Royal Assent
Royal assent is where the Monarch formally gives approval to the bill. It is an
automatic process with Commissioners appointed for the purpose of carrying out the
task, rather than the sovereign in person.
Royal assent has not been withheld since 1707 when Queen Anne refused to assent
to the Scottish Militia Bill.
The Act comes into operation at the specified time. For example the Human Rights
Act 1998 came into operation on October 2nd
2000.

5. 7. Criticism of the Law Making Process
In 1975 the Renton Committee stated that there were four main complaints with
legislation:
A. Language is often obscure and complex.
B. Acts can be over elaborate trying to provide for every contingency.
C. Structure was often illogical.
D. A lack of clear connection between Acts on the same topics.
There are other problems including the difficulty with knowing when Acts and
sections of Acts come into operation. This information is not always well publicised,
especially if the topic is not news worthy. Also legislation is not always scrutinised
effectively, due to time constraints or the use of delegated legislation. The
Government is in control of the legislative process and without an effective
opposition, abuse of the process can occur.
In 1992 a Hansard Society Commission report under Lord Rippon underlined some
key principles of democratic law making. These were that citizens should be as
involved as possible, statute law should be thoroughly exposed to democratic
scrutiny, statute law should be as certain and intelligible as possible, statute law
should be as accessible as possible, and that getting the law right is as important as
getting it passed quickly.
8. Parliamentary Supremacy and Law Making
The supremacy of Parliament means that laws passed by Parliament are the highest
source of law and can supersede delegated legislation, previous Acts of Parliament,
precedent or custom. As long as the laws have been passed according to the correct
procedure, the courts must apply them. This is the case even if the law causes public
outcry, such as stating that all newborn babies must be killed.
However Parliamentary sovereignty has been limited by the UK joining the European
Union and by the European Convention of Human Rights, which has been
incorporated into domestic law by the Human Rights Act 1998.
When the UK joined the European Union in 1973, it did so by passing the European
Communities Act 1972, which clearly transferred sovereignty from Parliament to
Europe. Technically Parliament could withdraw the UK from the EU, retrieving it’s
sovereignty, but this would realistically be very difficult considering the level of
integration between member states that have taken place.
In many countries a Bill of Rights protects citizens’ rights from abuse by the state.
Britain was one of the original signatories of the European Convention of Human
Rights that gave citizens basic protection of rights and freedoms. However whilst
Britain agreed to comply with the Convention, Parliament could still opt to pass
legislation that was in contravention. Parliament has now incorporated the European
Convention into domestic law through the Human Rights Act 1998. The Government

6. must now make a statement saying whether the bill is compatible with the
convention or not. The Government can still choose to pass legislation that is
incompatible and the courts have no methods of control.
It is also argued that Parliament derives its sovereignty from the people who elect
the Government through elections. Parliament is therefore subject to the people as
the people have the power to change the makeup of Government.
In 1998 Parliament devolved powers to a Scottish Parliament, a Welsh Assembly
and a Northern Ireland Assembly. These bodies now exercise powers that were
previously exercised by Parliament. Whilst technically Parliament could remove the
powers, this would cause political difficulty.
Sovereignty is based on the idea of democratic law making, whereby MPs are
representing voters. However MPs usually vote on party lines, are only elected by a
small majority, and cannot be immediately replaced.