Act of Parliament

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In the English-speaking world and especially in countries governed by the Westminster system , the Act of Parliament is a law that is passed by a national or regional parliament .

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

legislation

Acts of Parliament are the primary laws passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and , since their inception, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales . The powers of the United Kingdom Parliament are set out in the Act of Union of 1800. The Scottish Parliament was given legislative power by the Scotland Act 1998 , and the National Assembly for Wales by the Government of Wales Act 1998.

A bill ( bill ) is the Act of Parliament and the Statute Law if it is approved by parliament majority and confirmed by the monarch.

Classification

  • Public Acts , also known as Public General Acts , affect the United Kingdom as a whole or some of its parts. Their designs are usually brought in at the initiative of the government.
  • Private Acts or Local and Personal Acts have local effects, for example empowering local authorities to act or allowing regional exceptions to laws. Drafts are introduced at the initiative of organizations, local corporations or private companies, rarely individuals. Potentially affected individuals or groups can petition against it.
  • Hybrid bills combine features of both of the above types by proposing changes to existing general laws, but also by including regulations pertaining to individual persons or corporations.

UK Parliament

A bill goes through the following process in the UK bicameral parliament before it is passed:

  • The actual submission of a draft law is usually preceded by a consultation period lasting at least 12 weeks, during which the affected parts of the government and other parties involved (e.g. trade unions, industry representatives or lobby groups) are asked for their opinions. and which is not counted as part of the actual process. If several legislative options are considered, government proposals are published as a green paper ( green paper ) or, if there is a clear declaration of intent, as a white paper (white paper). Drafts are increasingly being examined by parliamentary committees, which can express their opinion and suggest changes. Several proposals on related issues are combined in one bill. The Ministerial Committee on the Legislative Programs (LP) is responsible for the process planning of legislation . It decides in which House of Parliament a draft law will be presented first, recommends to the Cabinet which drafts are to be included in the speech from the throne , which drafts are to be published as a proposal and the amount of time allowed by Parliament. After the consultation, the draft law will be prepared for submission by lawyers. It must blend in with existing UK and European Union laws . If the legal and formal criteria for submission have been met, the draft can be submitted at first reading.
  • First reading : The order paper , in which the matters to be dealt with by Parliament are published daily, announces the submission of a draft law. This is only read out and not yet debated. Bills relating to taxation or public finances are presented in the House of Commons , those relating to the judiciary or the consolidation of several laws into one, traditionally in the House of Lords .
  • Second reading : As a rule, there should be two weekends between the first and second reading. Then, at the instigation of the lead ministry, a debate on the general principles of the draft law is scheduled, followed by a vote. If the majority of the House decides for the second reading, the draft law goes to the responsible parliamentary committee. Otherwise the draft is considered rejected, will not be pursued further and may not be submitted again unchanged.
  • Committee stage : At this stage, a parliamentary committee examines each section of the bill and can make changes. These are carried out in agreement with the government in order to remedy deficiencies in the proposal, to take account of rules that have changed in the meantime or to take into account concessions based on prior discussions
  • Report stage : In the next step, the draft is presented to the company again to check the changes and, if necessary, make further changes.
  • Third reading : The final wording of the draft is now being debated. Changes are still possible in the House of Lords, but none are allowed in the House of Commons.
  • Passage : After the third reading, the draft law is passed on to the other House of Parliament, which can change it further. The House of Commons can directly reject drafts by the House of Lords. The House of Lords can amend drafts from the House of Commons, but if it rejects one, the House of Commons can still force the law to be passed in the following parliamentary session. The House of Lords is also not allowed to initiate or amend any bills in financial matters. Furthermore, according to a customary rule, it should not spend more than 60 days on a draft from the House of Commons. If one house has changed the design of the other, this and the changes are sent back for further discussion.
  • Review of changes : The house that initiated the bill reviews the changes introduced by the other house. If this should be rejected or changed further, a draft can go back and forth several times between the two houses. If the houses cannot agree, the draft is traditionally a failure unless the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are implemented. Then a House of Commons bill may be submitted for approval by the monarch, even if the House of Lords has not approved.
  • Royal Assent : With the approval of the monarch, the draft becomes law.

Scottish Parliament

In the Scottish Parliament, which has only one chamber, a bill goes through the following stages before it is passed as law:

  1. The draft and its accompanying documents - explanatory notes, a political memorandum setting out the objectives and a financial memorandum - are submitted to Parliament, along with statements by the Speaker of Parliament and the Member of Parliament responsible for the draft as to whether the draft falls within Parliament's competence .
  2. In the first step, the draft is examined by one or more parliamentary committees. Testimonials from the creators of the design and affected groups will be heard. The resulting report will be debated in plenary.
  3. In the second step, the draft goes back to the technical committee and is examined in detail and corrected if necessary, similar to the committee stage of a draft submitted to the British Parliament.
  4. In the third step, the checked and corrected draft is submitted to Parliament again. There is now the possibility of further changes before the whole draft is debated again before Parliament votes on its adoption.
  5. If the draft is passed, there will be a four-week period in which the Scottish Government or UK lawyers can refer it to the Supreme Court to determine whether it is within Parliament's jurisdiction. The speaker then submits the bill to the monarch for approval.

Other countries

Bills in states of the Commonwealth of Nations , their constituent states and other countries whose government system is based on that of the United Kingdom go through similar processes with regional modifications. In the Commonwealth Realms , the governor-general, acting on behalf of the monarch, confirms bills that have been adopted, where, as in India or Ireland, there is no monarchy, this is done by the president.

Ireland

Under Article 50 of the Constitution of Ireland , all laws in force in the Irish Free State prior to December 29, 1937 continued to apply . Similarly, Article 73 of the Irish Free State Constitution continued the legislature that was in place in southern Ireland . So there is over 800 years of legislative continuity in Ireland, as the oldest law currently in force in Ireland is the Fairs Act of 1204. This includes some Acts of Parliament ( Irish Achtanna Parlaiminte ) that were adopted by the then Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland were enacted.

By the Irish Parliament laws enacted hot after the Irish behalf of Parliament Acts of the Oireachtas ( Irish Eight Anna to Oireachtais ).

proof

  1. ^ Alisdair Gillespie: The English Legal System . Oxford University Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0-19-965709-4 , p. 23.
  2. ↑ Union with Ireland Act 1800 July 2, 1800.
  3. ^ Scotland Act 1998 . Her Majesty's Stationery Office, November 19, 1998.
  4. ^ Government of Wales Act 1998 . Her Majesty's Stationery Office, July 31, 1998.
  5. ^ A b c d Robert Rogers and Rhodri Walter: How Parliament works , 6th edition, Pearson Longman, 2006.
  6. ↑ Private Bills in Parliament: House of Commons Background Paper . House of Commons Library. January 7, 2014.
  7. ↑ Private Bills before Parliament 2016-17 . Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  8. ↑ Hybrid Bills in current and previous sessions . Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  9. ^ Cabinet Code of Practice
  10. ^ Levy, Jessica: Public Bill Committees: An Assessment. Scrutiny thought; Scrutiny Gained . In: Parliamentary Affairs . 63, No. 3, July 2010, p. 534.
  11. ↑ Jon Lawrence: What is to be done with the second chamber? . In: History & Policy . History & Policy. January 1, 2007. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  12. ^ Conventions of the UK Parliament. Report of Session 2005-06 Volume II . House of Lords, House of Commons. Joint Committee on Conventions, October 31, 2006.
  13. ↑ Parliament Act 1911 August 18, 1911.
  14. ↑ Parliament Act 1949 December 16, 1949.
  15. ↑ a b Byrne, Raymond; McCutcheon, J. Paul; Bruton, Claire; Coffey, Gerard: McCutcheon on the Irish Legal System (5th ed.) . Bloomsbury Professional, 2008.
  16. ^ Statute Law Revision Act 2007 . Roinn to Taoisigh, May 1, 2007.