The normal process is that the Bill is passed through the House of Commons and the House of Lords, before it receives the royal assent. Draft Bills are sometimes published for scrutiny, but usually the First Reading is the first time that MPs and peers see the Bill.

The role of Parliament is in scrutinising Bills introduced by ministers, MPs and peers. Technically laws are made by the Queen in Parliament. Bills require the royal assent to become law, in present times this is merely a formality. Where the Crown Prerogative is involved, the Queen is required to give consent for the Bill to progress through Parliament. The Secretary of State often decides when a statute should come into force. Ministers and civil servants develop the policy behind the legislation, government lawyers draft Bills, ministers introduce Bills into Parliament and push them through the House of Commons and House of Lords. The elected government takes a lead in the legislative process. The government has a dominant position in the legislative process as well as possessing extensive power to create secondary legislation. The consideration of the legislative process illustrates the restrictive nature of the UK's separation of powers. What are the advantages of external restraint upon government's powers and what are the problems of removing them? It is evident that these two forms of judicial restraint on the powers of the government to introduce legislation may soon be removed. Legislation also confers powers on government Acts often give ministers wide discretionary powers to carry out executive functions and create secondary legislation.Įxam Consideration: Both the UK's membership of the EU and the HRA are subject to change at the present time. Senior courts also have powers to make 'declarations of incompatibility' under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) where provisions are found to be contrary to Convention rights. Since 1973, UK courts and tribunals have had the power to disapply provisions of legislation that are not in accordance with EU law. This means of creating legislation gives little place for ensuring that it represents public opinion. The House of Lords is not elected at all. The 'first past the post' electoral system does not allow for a proportionate number of seats being allocated according to the votes cast for each of the political parties. It is not strictly true that Parliament legislates, since the government determines the timing and content of legislation. The government has a dominant role in the creation of legislation, they initiate draft Bills. The adjudicative process is considered to be superior to the courts in determining questions of the public interest. The 'internal limit' is the MP's own sense of morality and of the society in which they live. that large numbers of subjects will not obey laws. Dicey, Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885 10th edn, 1959) p.59 - Dicey explains that MPs are subject to 'external' limits on Parliament's power to legislation, i.e. The UK's constitution gives the politicians the power to create an Act of Parliament, it is considered that the electoral process and the political process of making legislation leads to legislation which is approved of by the electorate.Ī.V. The process of drafting primary legislation and the institutions involved in the process illustrate three key constitutional principles in context: parliamentary supremacy, the rule of law and the separation of powers. Primary legislation constitutes UK Acts of Parliament, some of which include important constitutional rules in the absence of a codified constitution in the UK. Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit LinkedIn WhatsApp I.

Ordinary scrutiny