Law Making Process under English Constitution.

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The most important function of the Houses is legislation. For legislation a Bill may be brought in either of the two houses except those affecting taxation which is brought in the House of Commons. Bill is of following two kinds: (1) Public Bill (2) Private bill. Public Bill is the one that relates with the community at large, whereas, a private Bill relates to private rights or interests deals with local or personal matters e.g., giving special powers to Municipal corporations, Railways etc.
e.g. (=example given) etc. (=and others)

First reading: A public bill may be brought either by the government or by a House. It begins with a motion which may either be carried or rejected without debate. If the bill is not rejected it is read for the first time. At this stage no amendment or debate is made in the Bill. Second reading: In due course the bill is brought for second reading. At this stage only main principles are discussed. The bill may be opposed either by moving an amendment or an amendment opposing the bill. If read for second time, the general principle of the Bill is affirmed; if rejected , the principle is rejected. Committee stage: After second reading, the Bill goes to the committee of the whole House. Occasionally a Bill goes to a small select Committee or the Standing Committee for Law or the Standing committee for the Trade. In committee, the Bill is considered clause by clause and any relevant amendment can be made. Report Stage: The speaker informs the House that the Bill is through the Committee. Then the Bill is read a third time; at this stage only verbal amendments are allowed Third reading:

After the third reading the Bill is sent to the Lords. After the assent by the House of Lords followed by the Royal assent the Bill passes in to an Act. Under the Parliament Act, 1911, the House of Lords has only a successive veto. Even if they do not assent after two years the Bill can become an Act.

A private Bill can be introduced in either House commencing with the presentation of a petition by its promoters. The petition together with a copy of the Bill has to be lodged in the private bill office and treasury. Opponents of the Bill must lodge their complaints in the same office. The Bill is scrutinized and if the examiners report that it complies with the standing orders on private Bill, then the House proceeds with it. After its first reading, the Bill is again sent to the private bill office, and it is again examined as to whether or not it complies with the standing orders. On second reading it may be opposed on principles; in that case it goes to a Committee of four members and a referee. This Committee hears witness and counsel on each side and finally approves or rejects the Bill. Then the Bill is sent to the House of Lords for approval. After the approval the Royal assent the Bill becomes an Act.
Petition (= formally request) Lodge (= file) Scrutinize (= investigate) Standing orders (= orders that applies) Counsel (= advocate)

Money bills are those public Bills which affect the revenue and expenditure of the state. They differ from ordinary public Bills as regards procedure. Ordinary bill may be originated in either of the houses whereas money bill is originated only in the House of Commons. It is necessary that its introduction must be authorized by a resolution of a committee of the House moved by a Minister. The estimates of the expenditure of the ensuing year are put by the Ministers in the form of resolution before a committee of the whole House called the Committee of Supply. This Committee then discusses the estimates and votes the expenditures required. Another Committee of the whole House called the Committee of Ways and Means passes resolution how the money voted in supply shall be raised. It authorizes the imposition of new taxes if required and passes resolution that the same voted be issued out of the consolidated fund. But resolutions have no force of law. So, the resolutions are then put in the form of Bills which are passed by Parliament like ordinary bills.
Ensuing (= following)

Delegated legislation in England.

In the United Kingdom, delegated legislation is legislation that is passed otherwise than in an Act of Parliament. An enabling Act or the parent Act confers a power to make delegated legislation on a Government Minister or another person or body. Several thousand pieces of delegated legislation are made each year, compared with only a few dozen Acts of Parliament.
Otherwise (= or else) Enabling Act or parent Act (= a law that creates new powers especially a statute conferring powers on an executive agency to carry out various delegated tasks.)

Delegated legislation can be used for a wide variety of purposes, ranging from relatively narrow, technical matters such as fixing the date on which an Act of Parliament will come into force, or setting the level of fees payable for a public service, e.g. the issue of a passport, to filling in the detail of how an Act setting out broad principles will be implemented in practice.
Relatively (=comparatively) e.g. (=example given)

Types of delegated legislation

Delegated legislation may take the following forms: (1) Orders in Council are made by the Queen on the advice of the Privy Council. Orders in Council are generally used where it would be inappropriate for the order to be made by a Minister, for example where the matter is of constitutional significance such as transferring powers and functions from one Minister to another, or bringing into force emergency powers to be exercised by Ministers.
Order (= a command; direction; instruction) Privy Council (=in Britain the principal council of the King composed of the cabinet ministers and other persons chosen by Royal appointment to serve as privy councilors) Inappropriate (= wrong) Constitutional (= relating to constitution) Significance (= worth; importance; impact)

Orders of Council are made by the Lords of the Privy Council in their own right. These most commonly relate to the regulation of professional bodies and the higher education sector, over which the Privy Council exercises a supervisory function.

Supervisory (= administratively)

Orders are usually made by Ministers. An Order is an exercise of executive powers, for example to create or dissolve a public body. Commencement Orders are used to set the date on which an Act, or part of an Act, comes into force.
Dissolve (= break up)

(2) Regulations are also usually made by Ministers. Regulations are the means by which substantive and detailed law is made, for example setting out in detail how an Act is to be implemented. Regulations made under the European Communities Act 1972 are the means by which the Government most often implements European law within the United Kingdom.
Regulations (= the act of controlling by rules) Means (= ways) Substantive Law (= the pat of the law that creates, defines and regulates the rights duties and powers of parties)

(3) Rules set out procedures, for example rules governing court procedures, or the way in which the Patent Office deals with applications. Rules may be made by Ministers or, if specified in the parent Act, a senior judge.
Procedure (= measures; dealings) Patent office (=office that deals with the registration of copy rights; design and model etc.)

(4) Schemes: for example, schemes made by the Charity Commission to amended how a charity is governed.
Scheme (=method; format; idea)

(5) Directions are a means by which Ministers give legally binding instructions to a public body about the way it exercises its functions.

(6) Byelaws are laws of limited application, usually restricted to certain places, made by local authorities or certain other bodies (for example, train operating companies or the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty) to control the activities of the people in public spaces, such as in public parks or on board public transport.

Advantages and disadvantages of delegated legislation

The use of delegated legislation has a number of advantages. Firstly, it allows laws to be enacted without using up scarce Parliamentary time on technical matters, for example the fine detail of a public sector pension scheme or the precise design of traffic signs, thereby freeing Parliament to discuss matters of broad principle and policy.
Scarce (= limited; insufficient; inadequate) Technical (= methodological) Thereby (= thus; in that way) Policy (= strategy)

Secondly, it allows laws relating to technical matters to be prepared by those with the relevant expert knowledge.

Thirdly, delegated legislation is flexible enough to deal speedily with changing circumstances, for example increasing costs of services, developments in scientific knowledge or minor changes in policy. This also makes it invaluable in emergencies when very swift action is required delegated legislation made under emergency powers can be drafted, enacted and brought into force in a matter of hours rather than the days, weeks or months that would be required to pass an Act of Parliament.
Emergency (=crisis situation) Enacted (=passed by parliament)

Delegated legislation can also be criticized on the grounds that it is subject to less parliamentary scrutiny than primary legislation and thereby may potentially be used by the Government in ways which Parliament had not intended or appreciated when it conferred the power.
Scrutiny (= inspection; examination) Intended (=purported; aimed) Confer (=give; grant; bestow)

Another disadvantage is in the sheer volume of laws that are passed as delegated legislation. Because of this bulk, there is normally little publicity or knowledge about the changes that are being made. However there are both parliamentary and judicial controls on delegated legislation which are discussed below.
Sheer (=pure; utter) Volume (= quantity; amount)

Controls over delegated legislation There are both parliamentary and judicial controls over delegated legislation.The parliamentary controls, by which delegated legislation made by Statutory Instrument may either need to be approved by a vote of each House of Parliament before it is made, or be subject to a veto by either House within a certain period of time after it is made, are described in detail in the article on Statutory Instruments. Judicial control is exercised through the means of judicial review. Because delegated legislation is made by a person exercising a power conferred by an Act of Parliament for a specified purpose, rather than by Parliament exercising its sovereign law-making powers, it can be struck down by the courts if they conclude that it is ultra vires This would be the case if the Government attempts to use delegated legislation for a purpose not envisioned by the parent Act, or if the legislation is an unreasonable use of the power conferred by the Act, or if pre-conditions imposed by the Act (for example, consultation with certain organizations) have not been satisfied.
Judicial review (= a courts power to review the actions of the other branches of government) Ultra vires (= beyond the power Envisioned (= predicted; foresaw) Unreasonable (= illogical; irrational)

Note: There is a constitutional convention that the House of Lords does not vote against delegated legislation. Exam oriented questions: (1) What is legislation? (2) Discuss law making process in England. (3) What is public bill? (4) What is private bill?

(5) What is money bill? (6) What is delegated legislation? (7) What are the controls over delegated legislation?