Unit 3. Law-making process – Parliament in action

Why bring Laws in?

It’s common knowledge that there is no written constitution in Great Britain, and the laws of the country are not listed within a single document. That is why law-making has special significance, as each new Act of Parliament represents a new page in the country’s constitution.

The law undergoes constant reform in the courts as established principles are interpreted, clarified or reapplied to meet new circumstances. Occasionally obsolete laws become outdated, and pressure arises on the Government to update the law. The Government may also wish to introduce new laws in line with its policies. During the late 1990s, for example, a series of Acts was passed to comply with the Labour Government’s programme for constitutional reform.

Sometimes new laws are needed to ensure that the UK complies with International or European Law. The Human Rights Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are recent examples of this.

In the UK laws made by Parliament are known as Statute Laws. Every year Parliament passes about 100 laws directly by making Acts of Parliament. Within the same period, more than 3000 Statutory Instruments containing many rules and regulations are made indirectly, on Parliament’s authority. Parliament sometimes passes a very general law and leaves the relevant minister to fill in the details. The minister is often in the best position to do this, particularly where circumstances are changing fairly frequently. By having the freedom to make some rules, the minister is able to adapt to changing circumstances. Using the powers given to them by Parliament, ministers, in effect, become lawmakers themselves.

The essence of law-making in Parliament is that decisions are taken on behalf of the people. Elected representatives sit in the House of Commons, while the House of Lords contains a variety of experts from all walks of life who provide the benefit of their experience.

No new law can be made by Parliament unless it has completed a number of stages in both Houses of Parliament and received the Royal Assent. Only after the Royal Assent does it become a new law or Act of Parliament. Before this, while it is still journeying through Parliament, it is called a Bill.

TASK 1. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following key words and expressions:

1. статутное право
2. акт делегированного законодательства
3. суть законотворческого процесса
4. соответствовать международному праву
5. соответствовать политике правительства
6. пройти несколько стадий
7. вносить на рассмотрение законопроект
8. получить Королевскую Санкцию
9. принимать решения от имени народа
10. подвергнуться преобразованиям
11. привести закон в соответствие с требованиями современности

TASK 2. Answer the following questions: