Saturday, October 21, 2023 1:59 AM
Parliament and its functions:
Parliament is formally referred to as king in parliament and is also known as the supreme law
making body in UK. As the westminister parliament has two chambers; the HOC and HOL, it is
identified as bicameral. Countries with only chambers are known as Unicameral as New Zealand is
an example of a single house chamber.
Parliament is recognized as a multi-functional body. Firstly, checking and challenging the work of
the government (scrutiny) is one of main functions of the UK parliament. The others include;
making and changing laws (legislation), debating the vital issues of the day., check and approving
the government spending (budget/taxes).
The house of commons composition:
The house of common is also recognized as the lower chamber although it might be more
powerful. Since it is elected, it is known as the democratic chamber of parliament. The HOC
constitutes of total of 650 members of parliament or MPs. It is called as the democratic chambers
as the MPs are elected by a system known as 'simple majority system' OR 'first past the post
system'.
First past the post system: to represent a constituency a candidate stands from each political
party in the elections, there is one vote per voter. The first past the post system has been adopted
by many former British colonies such as India and Pakistan.
Elections: general elections takes place every five years - a constituency or geographically defined
area is represented by each MP. The political party having the largest number of members in the
HOC forms the government. The prime minister sits in the HOC as opposed to the HOL, as a part of
the constitutional conventions. The prime minister being the leader of the political party with the
greatest number of seats in HOC.
The house of lord composition:
The HOL is recognized as the upper or second chamber and members of the HOL are called as
'peers'. It is the unelected chamber as neither the members or peers of HOL are elected by the
public. The HOL is constituted of appointed members which can be separated into hereditary
peers, life peers and lord spirituals. The hereditary peers are those members who inherit their
title although they have been limited now. Secondly, life peerages Act 1958 introduced the life
peers who then are appointed on the advice of prime minister by the monarch. Also the church of
England in the affairs of the state is represented by the bishops who have around 24 seats.
Including hereditary peers and lord spirituals in the HOL lead to some controversies as it is argued
that a time in British history is represented by hereditary peers which is taken to be undemocratic
as people were given roles on basis of their titles.
The HOL does not face the same degree of political pressure being the unelected chamber of
parliament as they do not have to worry about being re-elected by the party or the public. There
are some advantages of having unelected chamber of parliament like it can be said that more
independence exists within the HOL due to lack of government majority and less strict political
party structure. Many members of the HOL are expert in their fields and they belong from a wide
range of different backgrounds and professions. HOL for their examination of legislation and
government scrutiny can take benefit of this professional experience. Another merit of HOL is that
it is said to be characterized by its breath of knowledge and independence of thought. For all
these benefits and functions that are performed by the HOL, it can be said that it would have to
be invented. Also HOL has been taken to play an important role in the scrutiny through one of the
chp 7 parliament Page 1
, be invented. Also HOL has been taken to play an important role in the scrutiny through one of the
measures adopted by the parliament like debates, parliamentary questions where HOL can ask for
either written or oral answers from the minister.
The relationship between the HOL and HOC:
Furthermore, both chambers hold a relationship of checks between each other as the general rule
suggests that a decision made in one house has to be approved by the other house but exceptions
to this exists. Conventions and law governs the relationship between the HOL and HOC. We look
at the Salisbury addison convention which is that if the subject matter of a bill introduced by the
government, forms part of the manifesto of the government, the HOL cannot unnecessarily vote
down that bill. The aim behind this convention was that the will of elected house should rule. Lord
Simon in 2001 said about the salisbury addison convention "The last comment to make about it is
that it is a constitutional convention and not constitutional law. In other words, it is binding only
politically and morally but not legally, and only so long as it is convenient". To decide whether the
convention governing the relationship between the HOL and the HOC should be written down, a
joint committee on conventions was made in 2006. There were many arguments in relative to
this, one of that was that codification would include definitions such as that of a manifesto bill
which might be hard to determine since it is possible for the party manifesto to be vague. Also it
was stated by the joint committee on conventions that salisbury addison convention should be
described as the Government Bill Convention as it has been changed over time. The committee
about codifying the convention said "It might raise issues of definition, reduce flexibility, and
inhibit the capacity to evolve”. It is said that salisbury addison convention limits the power of HOL
but it is still political in nature rather than legal being a convention.
The Parliament Acts, 1911 and 1949:
Additionally, the parliament acts 1911 and 1949 were introduced to review the power of HOL or
to improvise it. These acts basically restricts the power of HOL and establish the significance rof
HOC. The law was changed in three main aspects by the Parliament Act 1911 as the HOL's power
over money bills (bills relating to the public spending) was taken away. The veto (power to stop
an action) power of HOL was replaced with the power to delay bills for up to 2 years. The
maximun term of parliament was reduced from 7 years to 5 years.
Is the Parliament Act, 1949 valid or invalid law?
Valid: has legal force which is regarded as law
Invalid: will not be regarded as law if it doesn't have a legal force
Is the Parliament Act, 1949 valid or invalid law?
- It was stated by professor William wade that parliament contains three components: the
Monarch, the HOC and the HOL. Legislation passes with the approval of all three parts.
- Legislation made by the parliament act 1911 is only approved by the Monarch and the HOC.
It is not been approved by parliament which includes three elements.
- It was argued by wade that under the Parliament Act 1911, the law making capacity was
delegated to Monarch and the HOC by the parliament, therefore legislation enacted under
the parliament act 1911 was delegated legislation.
- It was further said by professor wade that a body that has been given delegated power
cannot expand the power. This can only be done by the entity delegating the power which
means that parliament act 1911 could not be used by the Monarch and the HOC to increase
the power given to them by the parliament.
- What these arguments are trying to indicate is that parliament act 1949 is not a valid act of
parliament
chp 7 parliament Page 2
Parliament and its functions:
Parliament is formally referred to as king in parliament and is also known as the supreme law
making body in UK. As the westminister parliament has two chambers; the HOC and HOL, it is
identified as bicameral. Countries with only chambers are known as Unicameral as New Zealand is
an example of a single house chamber.
Parliament is recognized as a multi-functional body. Firstly, checking and challenging the work of
the government (scrutiny) is one of main functions of the UK parliament. The others include;
making and changing laws (legislation), debating the vital issues of the day., check and approving
the government spending (budget/taxes).
The house of commons composition:
The house of common is also recognized as the lower chamber although it might be more
powerful. Since it is elected, it is known as the democratic chamber of parliament. The HOC
constitutes of total of 650 members of parliament or MPs. It is called as the democratic chambers
as the MPs are elected by a system known as 'simple majority system' OR 'first past the post
system'.
First past the post system: to represent a constituency a candidate stands from each political
party in the elections, there is one vote per voter. The first past the post system has been adopted
by many former British colonies such as India and Pakistan.
Elections: general elections takes place every five years - a constituency or geographically defined
area is represented by each MP. The political party having the largest number of members in the
HOC forms the government. The prime minister sits in the HOC as opposed to the HOL, as a part of
the constitutional conventions. The prime minister being the leader of the political party with the
greatest number of seats in HOC.
The house of lord composition:
The HOL is recognized as the upper or second chamber and members of the HOL are called as
'peers'. It is the unelected chamber as neither the members or peers of HOL are elected by the
public. The HOL is constituted of appointed members which can be separated into hereditary
peers, life peers and lord spirituals. The hereditary peers are those members who inherit their
title although they have been limited now. Secondly, life peerages Act 1958 introduced the life
peers who then are appointed on the advice of prime minister by the monarch. Also the church of
England in the affairs of the state is represented by the bishops who have around 24 seats.
Including hereditary peers and lord spirituals in the HOL lead to some controversies as it is argued
that a time in British history is represented by hereditary peers which is taken to be undemocratic
as people were given roles on basis of their titles.
The HOL does not face the same degree of political pressure being the unelected chamber of
parliament as they do not have to worry about being re-elected by the party or the public. There
are some advantages of having unelected chamber of parliament like it can be said that more
independence exists within the HOL due to lack of government majority and less strict political
party structure. Many members of the HOL are expert in their fields and they belong from a wide
range of different backgrounds and professions. HOL for their examination of legislation and
government scrutiny can take benefit of this professional experience. Another merit of HOL is that
it is said to be characterized by its breath of knowledge and independence of thought. For all
these benefits and functions that are performed by the HOL, it can be said that it would have to
be invented. Also HOL has been taken to play an important role in the scrutiny through one of the
chp 7 parliament Page 1
, be invented. Also HOL has been taken to play an important role in the scrutiny through one of the
measures adopted by the parliament like debates, parliamentary questions where HOL can ask for
either written or oral answers from the minister.
The relationship between the HOL and HOC:
Furthermore, both chambers hold a relationship of checks between each other as the general rule
suggests that a decision made in one house has to be approved by the other house but exceptions
to this exists. Conventions and law governs the relationship between the HOL and HOC. We look
at the Salisbury addison convention which is that if the subject matter of a bill introduced by the
government, forms part of the manifesto of the government, the HOL cannot unnecessarily vote
down that bill. The aim behind this convention was that the will of elected house should rule. Lord
Simon in 2001 said about the salisbury addison convention "The last comment to make about it is
that it is a constitutional convention and not constitutional law. In other words, it is binding only
politically and morally but not legally, and only so long as it is convenient". To decide whether the
convention governing the relationship between the HOL and the HOC should be written down, a
joint committee on conventions was made in 2006. There were many arguments in relative to
this, one of that was that codification would include definitions such as that of a manifesto bill
which might be hard to determine since it is possible for the party manifesto to be vague. Also it
was stated by the joint committee on conventions that salisbury addison convention should be
described as the Government Bill Convention as it has been changed over time. The committee
about codifying the convention said "It might raise issues of definition, reduce flexibility, and
inhibit the capacity to evolve”. It is said that salisbury addison convention limits the power of HOL
but it is still political in nature rather than legal being a convention.
The Parliament Acts, 1911 and 1949:
Additionally, the parliament acts 1911 and 1949 were introduced to review the power of HOL or
to improvise it. These acts basically restricts the power of HOL and establish the significance rof
HOC. The law was changed in three main aspects by the Parliament Act 1911 as the HOL's power
over money bills (bills relating to the public spending) was taken away. The veto (power to stop
an action) power of HOL was replaced with the power to delay bills for up to 2 years. The
maximun term of parliament was reduced from 7 years to 5 years.
Is the Parliament Act, 1949 valid or invalid law?
Valid: has legal force which is regarded as law
Invalid: will not be regarded as law if it doesn't have a legal force
Is the Parliament Act, 1949 valid or invalid law?
- It was stated by professor William wade that parliament contains three components: the
Monarch, the HOC and the HOL. Legislation passes with the approval of all three parts.
- Legislation made by the parliament act 1911 is only approved by the Monarch and the HOC.
It is not been approved by parliament which includes three elements.
- It was argued by wade that under the Parliament Act 1911, the law making capacity was
delegated to Monarch and the HOC by the parliament, therefore legislation enacted under
the parliament act 1911 was delegated legislation.
- It was further said by professor wade that a body that has been given delegated power
cannot expand the power. This can only be done by the entity delegating the power which
means that parliament act 1911 could not be used by the Monarch and the HOC to increase
the power given to them by the parliament.
- What these arguments are trying to indicate is that parliament act 1949 is not a valid act of
parliament
chp 7 parliament Page 2
