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Look through the paragraphs A-F, get the overall idea of the article, and put the paragraphs in the correct order. Then give a possible title for the article
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| CA law is formally known as an Act of Parliament. Before any government policy becomes law, it must first be written out as a Bill, or draft Act. MPs and members of the House of Lords discuss the Bill and suggest changes in Parliament before a Bill becomes law. A Bill has to pass through many different stages in Parliament before it can be given Royal Assent and pass into law. Bills can be introduced into either the House of Commons or the House of Lords. |
| E Making a law can be a long and complicated process. If needed, people and organisations have to be properly consulted on the idea; the Bill has to be written in a way that is acceptable to Parliament; and then be thoroughly debated. Different parts of the Bill (or clauses) are voted on and amendments made; more debating and negotiation can follow between the House of Commons and the House of Lords before the Bill is agreed and passed for Royal Assent. Primary legislation can take anything from a few months to many years to pass into law, depending on the complexity and opposition to Bills in Parliament. |
| AThe idea, or inspiration, for a piece of legislation can come from a variety of sources, including political parties (often as part of their election manifesto) and government departments, interest groups and research organisations, consumer or trade associations, or expert bodies. Sometimes a piece of legislation is introduced in order to make an international treaty or a Directive from the European Union part of United Kingdom law. Government departments also think ahead, by commissioning research, seeing how other countries tackle similar problems, and holding discussions with relevant European Union bodies and international organisations. The Cabinet decides what the priorities are for each legislative session. A session lasts about a year, usually starting around November. The Parliamentary timetable has room for only a limited number of major Bills in each session, generally about 15-20. The Cabinet has to balance manifesto commitments, the demands of individual government departments and other priorities. Once the decision has been taken to go ahead with a particular proposal, the next step of writing the Bill can begin. |
| B Ministers and their civil servants are responsible for the content of Bills. Ministers determine the overall scope of a Bill; civil servants are responsible for working out the detail. Government lawyers known as Parliamentary Counsel draft the Bill. They have to make it as precise and clear as possible so that everyone knows what it means and it does not contain any loopholes. Before starting to draft a Bill, the government often organizes a period of formal consultation. Either a 'Green Paper' or a 'White Paper' is published, and the general public and interested organisations can submit their comments and suggestions. A White Paper is a statement of fairly definite legislative intentions. A Green Paper (or consultation document) is more exploratory, and is often issued when the government has not decided what action to take. Sometimes a White Paper follows a Green one and both may be debated in Parliament before the government proceeds to legislation. The Bill does not take shape in isolation. Ministers and civil servants carry out extensive informal consultations to ensure that it covers everything and works in practice. The people and organisations consulted vary according to the subject matter of the Bill. They generally include experts, trade organisations, unions, MPs and other politicians, the Treasury and other government departments and international agencies. A controversial Bill may go to the Cabinet, or to one of its Committees, for further discussion. Bills are increasingly being published in draft form to allow more time for public scrutiny and consultation. When the Bill has been drafted, agreed by Ministers, and consulted upon, it is ready to be introduced into Parliament foritsfirst reading. |
| D After all the preparatory work the Bill that is presented to Parliament for its first reading is not a 'rough draft'. It is a refined version, the one that the government wants to have passed by Parliament. This is the reason why in many cases relatively few policy changes are made as a result of the discussions in Parliament. Government Bills can be introduced in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords. Most controversial Bills, and all those concerned with finance, start their life in the Commons. This account of the legislative procedure assumes a Bill has been introduced in the Commons. The process of introducing a Bill to Parliament is known as its first reading. It is in fact a purely formal introduction, without discussion, after which the Bill is printed. The Bill is then ready to proceed to its second reading. |
| FThe second reading debate is a general and wide-ranging discussion of the principles and scope of the Bill. Usually the debate lasts for one day - about six hours in practice - though MPs sometimes debate complex and controversial measures for two or three days. Ministers and their Opposition counterparts make the opening and closing speeches. The rest of the debate consists of speeches by backbench MPs from each side of the House. MPs with a special interest in the subject contribute, as do MPs whose constituencies are affected by the Bill. If the Bill is at all controversial, the debate concludes with a Division, or vote. It is very rare for a Government Bill to be defeated at second reading. As the Bill represents government policy, the government's MPs can virtually always be relied on to support it. The Bill must then proceed to the Committee Stage. |
Дата публикования: 2015-02-18; Прочитано: 352 | Нарушение авторского права страницы