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Act Of Parliament

Act of Parliament

In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. It can also be a private bill. It usually starts as a draft proposal, known as a White Paper. A Bill is then introduced into the House of Commons or House of Representatives or the House of Lords or Senate. By constitutional convention, Bills which contain significant provisions relating to taxation or public expenditure start in the House of Commons; in Canada this is the law. In the UK, Law Commission bills and consolidation bills start in the House of Lords. In some countries, the bill receives different names if initiated by the Government (Project) or by the Parliament (Proposition), like in Spain and Portugal.

Procedure

UK

In the UK, each bill passes through the following stages: # Pre-legislative scrutiny: It is increasingly common for a small number of Government bills to be published in draft before they are presented in Parliament. These bills are then considered either by the relevant select committee of the House of Commons or by an ad hoc Joint Committee of both Houses. This is not strictly speaking part of the legislative process, but it provides an opportunity for the Committee to express a view on the bill and propose amendments before it is introduced. # First reading: This is a formality; no vote occurs. The Bill is presented and ordered to be printed and, in the case of Private Members' bills, a date is set for second reading. #
- In the case of a Government Bill, Explanatory Notes, which try to explain the effect of the Bill in more simple language are also usually ordered to be printed. #
- A Government Bill can be introduced first into either House. Bills which deal primarily with taxation or public expenditure begin their passage in the Commons, since the financial privileges of that House mean that it has primacy in these matters (see Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949). Conversely, bills relating to the judicial system, Law Commission bills and consolidation bills begin their passage in the House of Lords which by convention has primacy in these matters. # Second reading: A debate on the general principles of the bill is followed by a vote. Normally, the Second Reading of a Government bill is approved. A defeat for a Government bill on this Reading usually signifies a major loss. If the bill is read a second time, it is proceeds to the committee stage. #
- Procedural Orders and Resolutions: Immediately after Second Reading, in the case of Government Bills, the House normally passes forthwith (i.e. without debate) a Programme Order, setting out the timetable for the committee and remaining stages of the Bill. It may also pass a separate Money Resolution, authorising any expenditure arising from the Bill; and/or a Ways and Means Resolution, authorising any new taxes or charges the Bill creates. #
- Bills are not programmed in the House of Lords. # Committee stage: This usually takes place in a standing committee in the Commons and on the Floor of the House in the Lords. In the United Kingdom, the House of Commons utilizes the following committees on bills: #
- Standing Committee: Despite the name, a standing committee is a committee specifically constituted for a certain bill. Its membership reflects the strengths of the parties in the House. #
- Special Standing Committee: The committee investigates the issues and principles of the bill before sending it to a regular Standing Committee. This procedure has been used very rarely in recent years (the Adoption and Children Bill in 2001-02 is the only recent example); the pre-legislative scrutiny process (see above) is now preferred. #
- Select Committee: A specialized committee that normally conducts oversight hearings for a certain Department considers the bill. This procedure has not been used in recent years, with the exception of the quinquennial Armed Forces Bill, which is always referred to a select committee. #
- Committee of the Whole House: The whole house sits as a committee in the House of Commons to consider a bill. Bills usually considered in this way are: the principal parts of the annual Finance Bill, bills of first-class constitutional importance, and bills which aer so un-controversial that the committee stage may be dispensed with quickly and easily on the floor of the House, without the need to nomniate a committee (some Private Members' Bills are usually dealt with this way each year). This is also the procedure used in the upper house. #
- Grand Committee (House of Lords): This is a recent new procedure used for some bills which is intended to speed up business. Although it takes place in a separate room, it is technically still a committee of the whole House in that all members can attend and participate. Procedure is the same as for a Committee in the main Chamber, but there are no votes. #: The committee considers each clause of the bill, and may make amendments to it. Significant amendments may be made at committee stage. In some cases, whole groups of clauses are inserted or removed. However, almost all the amendments which are agreed to in committee will have been tabled by the Government to correct deficiencies in the bill, to enact changes to policy made since the bill was introduced (or, in some cases, to import material which was not ready when the bill was presented), or to reflect concessions made as a result of earlier debate. # Consideration (or Report) stage: this takes place on the Floor of the House, and is a further opportunity to amend the bill. Unlike committee stage, the House need not consider every clause of the bill, only those to which amendments have been tabled. # Third reading: a debate on the final text of the bill, as amended. In the Lords, further amendments may be made on third reading, in the Commons it is usually a short debate followed by a single vote; amendments are not permitted. # Passage: The Bill is then sent to the other House (to the Lords, if it originated in the Commons; to the Commons, if it is a Lords Bill), which may amend it. The Commons may reject a bill from the Lords outright; the Lords may amend a bill from the Commons but, if they reject it, the Commons may force it through without the Lords' consent in the following Session of Parliament, as is detailed below. Furthermore, the Lords can neither initiate nor amend Money Bills, bills dealing exclusively with public expenditure or the raising of revenue. If the other House amends the Bill, the Bill and amendments are sent back for a further stage. # Consideration of Lords/Commons Amendments: The House in which the bill originated considers the amendments made in the other House. It may agree to them, amend them, propose other amendments in lieu or reject them. A Bill may pass backwards and forwards several times at this stage, as each House amends or rejects changes proposed by the other. If each House insists on disagreeing with the other, the Bill is lost, unless the Parliament Acts are invoked. # The Parliament Acts: Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, which do not apply for bills seeking to extend Parliament's length to more than five years, if the Lords reject a bill originated in the House of Commons, then the Commons may pass that bill again in the next session. The Bill is then submitted for Royal Assent even though the Lords did not pass it. Also, if the Lords do not approve of a Money Bill within thirty days of passage in the Commons, the bill is submitted for Royal Assent nevertheless.

Australia

In Australia, the bill passes through the following stages: # First Reading: Again, this stage is a mere formality. # Second Reading: As in the UK, the stage involves a debate on the general principles of the bill is followed by a vote. Again, the Second Reading of a Government bill is usually approved. A defeat for a Government bill on this Reading signifies a major loss. If the bill is read a second time, it is then considered in detail # Consideration in Detail: This usually takes place on the Floor of the House. Generally, committees are not used to consider the bill in detail. # Third reading: A debate on the final text of the bill, as amended. Very rarely do debates occur during this stage. # Passage: The Bill is then sent to the other House (to the Senate, if it originated in the House of Representatives; to the Representatives, if it is a Senate Bill), which may amend it. If the other House amends the Bill, the Bill and amendments are sent back to the original House for a further stage. # Consideration of Senate/Representatives Amendments: The House in which the bill originated considers the amendments made in the other House. It may agree to them, amend them, propose other amendments in lieu or reject them. However, the Senate may not amend Money Bills, though it can "request" the House to make amendments. A Bill may pass backwards and forwards several times at this stage, as each House amends or rejects changes proposed by the other. If each House insists on disagreeing with the other, the Bill is lost. # Disagreement between the Houses: Often, when a bill cannot be passed in the same form by both Houses, it is "laid aside." Sometimes, a special constitutional procedure allowing the passage of the bill without the agreement of both houses is allowed. If the House twice passes the same bill, and the Senate twice fails to pass that bill (either through rejection or through the passage of unacceptable amendments), then the Governor-General may dissolve both Houses of Parliament. If the House again passes the bill after the election, but the deadlock between the Houses persists, then the Governor-General may convene a joint sitting of both Houses, where a final decision will be taken on the bill. The procedure only applies if the bill originated in the House of Representatives. Six double-dissolutions have occurred, though a joint session only became necessary once.

Canada

In Canada, the bill passes through the following stages: # First Reading: Again, this stage is a mere formality. # Second Reading: As in the UK, the stage involves a debate on the general principles of the bill is followed by a vote. Again, the Second Reading of a Government bill is usually approved. A defeat for a Government bill on this Reading signifies a major loss. If the bill is read a second time, then it progresses to the committee stage. # Committee stage: This usually takes place in a standing committee in the Commons. #
- Standing Committee: The standing committee is a permanent one; each committee deals with bills in specific subject areas. Canada's standing committees is similar to the UK's select committees. #
- Special Committee: The procedure is not used often. #
- Legislative Committee: A legislative committee is especially appointed for a certain bill, like the UK's standing committees. #
- Committee of the Whole House: The whole house sits as a committee in the House of Commons to consider appropriation bills. #: The committee considers each clause of the bill, and may make amendments to it. Significant amendments may be made at committee stage. In some cases, whole groups of clauses are inserted or removed. However, almost all the amendments which are agreed to in committee will have been tabled by the Government to correct deficiencies in the bill or to enact changes to policy made since the bill was introduced (or, in some cases, to import material which was not ready when the bill was presented). # Consideration (or Report) stage: this takes place on the Floor of the House, and is a further opportunity to amend the bill. # Third reading: A debate on the final text of the bill, as amended. Very rarely do debates occur during this stage. # Passage: The Bill is then sent to the other House (to the Senate, if it originated in the House of Commons; to the Commons, if it is a Senate Bill), which may amend it. If the other House amends the Bill, the Bill and amendments are sent back to the original House for a further stage. # Consideration of Senate/Commons Amendments: The House in which the bill originated considers the amendments made in the other House. It may agree to them, amend them, propose other amendments in lieu or reject them. If each House insists on disagreeing with the other, the Bill is lost. # Disagreement between the Houses: There is no specific procedure under which the Senate's disagreement can be overruled by the Commons. The Senate's rejection is absolute. The debate on each stage is actually debate on a specific motion. For the first reading, there is no debate. For the second and third readings, the motion is "That this bill be now read a second [third] time." In the Committee stage, the debate is on the motions for specific amendments and the motion "That the clause [as amended] stand part of the bill," which is presented on every clause, whether amended or not. In the Report stage, the debate is on the motions for specific amendments. The final motion is "That the bill do now pass." Since the mid-19th century, in most but not all cases, the votes by the House of Commons are a formality in which the vote is predetermined by party lines. Because the Westminster system requires the government to keep the support of the House of Commons, the rejection of a bill by Commons is a major political crisis. Therefore, the government will in almost all cases ensure passage of a bill by a combination of modifying the bill so that it is acceptable to members of the ruling party and pressuring party members to vote for the bill. Unlike the American or UK systems, a Member of Parliament rarely votes against party instructions. Exceptions are cases of political crisis or matters of conscience such as the age of consent, in which the government may declare a free vote in which Members of Parliament are absolved of the requirement of voting with their party. It can either fail or pass and then go on to final, formal examination by the Governor General who invariably gives it the Royal Assent. Although the Governor General can in theory refuse to endorse a bill at this stage, this power has not been used in recent times. See also: List of Acts of Parliament of Canada

New Zealand

In New Zealand, the bill passes through the following stages: # First Reading: MPs debate and vote on the bill. If a bill is approved, it passes on to the committee stage. # Select Committee stage: The bill is considered by a Select Committee, which scrutinises the bill in detail and hears public submissions on the matter. The Committee may recommend amendments to the bill. # Second Reading: The general principles of the bill are debated, and a vote is held. If the bill is approved, it is put before a Committee of the House. # Committee of the House: The bill is debated and voted on, clause by clause, by the whole House sitting as a committee. # Third Reading: Summarising arguments are made, and a final vote is taken. If the bill is approved, it is passed to the Governor-General for Royal Assent. New Zealand has no upper house, and so no approval is necessary.

UK Details

Types of Acts

Acts of Parliament are of three types - # Public Acts are for laws of general application (e.g. reforming the criminal justice system), which affect a general class or category of persons. Such a class or category might include, for example, all citizens, all people above or below a certain age, all pensioners, prisoners, local authorities or public limited companies. # Private Acts affect a specific person (real or legal) differently from others. They include acts to confer powers on certain local authorities (but not others), acts affecting certain companies established by Act of Parliament (e.g. TSB, Transas), and acts which allow major works projects (e.g. the Channel Tunnel Rail Link), which grant special powers on the company undertaking the work (e.g. the compulsory purchase of land). Personal acts are a sub-category of private acts, which confer specific rights or duties on a named individual or individuals (e.g. allowing two persons to marry even though they are within a "prohibited degree of consanguinity or affinity"). # Hybrid Acts combine elements of both Public and Private acts. They are very rare, though the [http://www.parliament.uk/about_commons/prbohoc/hybrid_bills.cfm Crossrail Bill], a hybrid bill to build a railway across London from west to east, is currently before the House of Commons. Private Bills, common in the 19th Century, are now rare, as new planning legislation introduced in the 1960s removed the need for many of them. They are subject to a different procedure from that for Public Bills, described above, involving a quasi-judicial committee of three MPs. It is important not to confuse Private Bills with Private Member's Bills; the latter are classed as Public Bills.

Sovereignty

In the UK, Parliament has almost unlimited sovereignty. (In particular its sovereignty over the Church of Scotland was disputed for three centuries with Parliament finally admitting its lack of sovereignty in the 1920s.) As such Acts of Parliament are generally without limit or constraint. Although in modern times, European Law and Human Rights Legislation can overturn some Acts, this is only because another Act has declared so. Similarly, although Parliament has devolved significant powers to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, it is free to overrule or even abolish either institution, although this would be unlikely in practice. British law is also made through Statutory Instruments (SIs). These are laws which are made in the name of a Government minister, exercising legislative powers delegated to him or her by Act of Parliament. Some of these must be approved by Parliament before they can become law, others need only be laid before Parliament a certain number of days (usually 40) before coming into force. They are used because they are much faster and simpler to implement than a full act of Parliament, and are more easily amended to reflect changing circumstances. SIs are sometimes described as "secondary legislation, not second class legislation". They have the same force as an Act of Parliament, and much of the UK's law is made in this way. There are literally thousands of SIs each year, compared with around 50 Acts. Statutory Instruments are also used to bring Acts into force. Most Acts have sections that come into effect upon Royal Assent, or at a set date thereafter. However, other sections are brought into force using a SI which is titled [Bill Name] Commencement Order No. #. There can be as many as half a dozen Commencement Orders with some legislation. International treaties are not effective in domestic UK law until enforced by an Act of Parliament (e.g. The European Communities Act, which brought the UK into the European Union, the Single European Act which allowed for the creation of the single European internal market or the Outer Space Act which deals with international treaties on Space).

Historical Records

All UK Acts of Parliament since 1497 are kept in the House of Lords Record Office, including the oldest Act: The "Taking of Apprentices for Worsteads in the County of Norfolk" Act 1497, a reference to the wool worsted manufacture at Worstead in Norfolk, England. Acts before 1962 are referenced using 'Year of reign', 'Monarch', c., 'Chapter number' - e.g. 16 Charles II c. 2 - to define a chapter of the appropriate statute book. Since 1962, the regnal year has been replaced by the calendar year. All recent Acts have a short title, or citation (e.g. Local Government Act 2003, National Health Service Act 1974).

Acts of Historical Importance

The most important Acts in UK history are listed below:
- Act of Union 1536 - united England and Wales
- Bill of Rights 1689 - placed (or restated) limits on the monarch's power
- Act of Settlement 1701 - established a line of succession for the monarchy
- Act of Union 1707 - united England and Scotland into Great Britain
- Act of Union 1800 - united Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom
- Reform Act 1832 - with later Reform Acts and Representation of the People Acts, extended the franchise and removed rotten boroughs
- Parliament Act 1911 (amended 1949) - allowed the House of Commons to overrule the House of Lords after a delay
- Statute of Westminster 1931 - gave constitutional independence to the British dominions overseas
- European Communities Act 1972 - made the UK part of what is now the European Union providing for the application of European Law
- Scotland Act 1998 - established an autonomous Scottish Parliament
- Government of Wales Act 1998 - Creation of a National Assembly For Wales See also: List of Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom

Topical Acts

Current Acts of Parliament of special interest:
- Identity Cards Bill - under discussion in Parliament
- Terrorism Act 2000
- Freedom of Information Act 2000

External links

- All Acts of Parliament (since 1988) and Statutory Instruments are available free on-line under Crown copyright terms from the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/]
- [http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/l01.pdf Parliamentary Stages of a Government Bill (pdf)] from the House of Commons Information Office. Category:Westminster System Category:Statutory law

Westminster System

The Westminster System is a democratic system of government modelled after that of the United Kingdom system, as used in the Palace of Westminster, the location of the UK parliament. The system is a series of procedures for operating a legislature. It is used, or was once also used, in most Commonwealth and ex-Commonwealth nations, beginning with the Canadian provinces in the mid-19th century. It is also used in Australia, India, the Republic of Ireland, Jamaica, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Malta. There are other parliamentary systems, for example those of Germany and Italy, whose procedures differ considerably from the Westminster system. Aspects of the Westminster system include:
- an executive branch usually made up of members of the legislature with the senior members of the executive in a Cabinet;
- the presence of opposition parties;
- an elected legislature, or a system in which one of two houses is elected and the other appointed; and
- a ceremonial head of state, who is different from the head of government, and who may possess reserve powers that are not normally exercised. Most of the procedures of the Westminster system have originated with the conventions, practices and precedents of the UK parliament, which are a part of what is known as the British constitution. Unlike the UK, most countries that use the Westminster system have codified the system in a written constitution. However convention, practices and precedents continue to play a significant role in these countries, as many constitutions do not specify important elements of procedure: for example, older constitutions using the Westminster system, such as the Canadian constitution, may not even mention the existence of the Cabinet and the title of the head of the government (Prime Minister), because these offices' existence and role evolved outside the primary constitutional text.

Operation

In a Westminster system, the members of parliament are elected by popular vote. The head of government is usually chosen by being invited to form a government (that is, an administration), by the head of state or the representative of the head of state (that is, the governor-general), not by parliamentary vote (see Kiss Hands.) There are notable exceptions to the above in the Republic of Ireland, where the President of Ireland has a mandate through direct election, and the Taoiseach (prime minister) prior to appointment by the President of Ireland is nominated by the democratically elected lower house, Dáil Éireann. Because of the mandate and the potentially significant constitutional powers of the Irish president, some authorities believe the Irish constitution is as similar to semi-presidential systems, as it is to Westminster. Similarly, under the constitutions of some Commonwealth countries, a president or Governor-General may possess clearly significant reserve powers. One example is the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975, in which the Governor-General dismissed the Prime Minister, who held a majority in the Australian House of Representatives. Because of constitutional differences, the formal powers of presidents and Governors-General vary greatly from one country to another. However, as Governors-General are not directly elected, they lack the popular mandate held, for example, by an Irish president. Because of this, Governors-General rarely risk the public disapproval which would result from them making unilateral and/or controversial uses of their powers. The head of government, usually called the Prime Minister, must be able either (a) to control a majority of seats within the lower house, (b) to ensure the existence of no absolute majority against them. If the parliament passes a resolution of no confidence or if the government fails to pass a major bill such as the budget, then the government must either resign so that a different government can be appointed or seek a parliamentary dissolution so that new public elections may be held in order to re-confirm or deny their mandate. In addition to a majority in the Australian House of Representatives, an Australian prime minister must also secure a Senate which is willing to pass budgets. Many political scientists have held that the Australian system of government was consciously devised as a blend or hybrid of the Westminster and the United States systems of government, especially since the Australian Senate is a very powerful upper house. This notion is expressed in the nickname "Washminster system". For example, the Australian Senate maintains similar powers to those held by the US Senate or the British House of Lords, prior to 1911, to block supply to a party with a majority in the House of Representatives. Although the dissolution of the legislature and the call for new elections is formally done by the head of state, by convention the head of state acts according to the wishes of the head of government. In exceptional circumstances the head of state may either refuse a dissolution request, as in the King-Byng Affair, or dismiss the government, as in the Australian crisis of 1975. Either action is likely to bend or break existing conventions. The Lascelles Principles were an attempt to create a convention to cover similar situations, but have not been tested in practice.

Cabinet government

In his book "The English Constitution" which was published in 1876, Walter Bagehot emphasised the divide of the constitution into two components: the Dignified (that part which is symbolic) and the Efficient (the way things actually work and get done) and called the Efficient "Cabinet Government". Although there have been many works since emphasising different aspects of the "Efficient", no one has seriously questioned Bagehot's premise that the divide exists in the Westminster system. Members of the Cabinet are collectively seen as responsible for government policy. All Cabinet decisions are made by consensus, a vote is never taken in a Cabinet meeting. All ministers, whether senior and in the Cabinet, or junior ministers, must support the policy of the government publicly regardless of any private reservations. When a Cabinet reshuffle is imminent, a lot of time is taken up in the conversations of politicians and in the news media, speculating on who will, or will not, be moved in and out of the Cabinet by the Prime Minister, because the appointment of ministers to the Cabinet and threat of dismissal from the Cabinet, is the single most powerful constitutional power which a Prime Minister has in the political control of the Government in the Westminster system. Linked to Cabinet government is the idea, at least in theory, that ministers are responsible for the actions of their departments. However, because many government departments are huge bureaucracies with powerful senior staff, the ministers in charge of departments are now held accountable only for the implementation of policy decisions and any misconduct of themselves and those civil servants over whom they have direct control. It is no longer considered to be an issue of resignation if the actions of members of their department, over whom the minister has no direct control, make mistakes or formulate procedures which are not in accordance with agreed policy decisions. One of the major powers of the Prime Minister under the Westminster system is to be the arbitrator of when a fellow minister is accountable for the actions of his or her department. The Official Opposition and other major political parties not in the Government, will mirror the governmental organisation with their own Shadow Cabinet made up of Shadow Ministers.

Consequences

The Westminster system tends to have extremely well-disciplined legislative parties in which it is highly unusual for a legislator to vote against their party, and in which no-confidence votes are very rare. Also, Westminster systems tend to have strong cabinets in which cabinet members are politicians with independent bases of support. Conversely, legislative committees in Westminster systems tend to be weak.

Ceremonies

The Westminster system has a very distinct appearance when functioning, with many British customs incorporated into day-to-day government function. A Westminster-style parliament is usually a long, rectangular room, with two rows of seats and desks on either side. The chairs are positioned so that the two rows are facing each other. The intended purpose of this arrangement is to create a visual representation of the conflict-filled nature of parliamentary government. Traditionally, the opposition parties will sit in one row of seats, and the government party will sit in the other. Of course, sometimes a majority government is so large that it must use the "opposition" seats as well. In the lower house at Westminster (the House of Commons) there are lines on the floor in front of the government and opposition benches that members may cross only when exiting the chamber. The distance between the lines is the length of two swords. At one end of the room sits a large chair, for the Speaker of the House. The speaker usually wears a black robe, and in many countries, a wig. Robed parliamentary clerks often sit at narrow tables between the two rows of seats, as well. Other ceremonies sometimes associated with the Westminster system include an annual Speech from the Throne (or equivalent) in which the Head of State gives a special address (written by the government) to parliament about what kind of policies to expect in the coming year, and lengthy State Opening of Parliament ceremonies that often involve the presentation of a large ceremonial mace.

Some countries under the Westminster system

- Australia
- Barbados
- Canada
- India
- Jamaica
- Malaysia
- Malta
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Trinidad and Tobago
- The United Kingdom

Notes

# "The English Constitution" see Bibliography.

Bibliography

- The English Constitution, Walter Bagehot, 1876. ISBN 0521465354, ISBN 0521469422.
- British Cabinet Government, Simon James, Pub Routledge, 1999. ISBN 0415179777.
- Prime Minister & Cabinet Government, Neil MacNaughton, 1999. ISBN 0340747595.

External link

- [http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~pnorris/Acrobat/APSA%202000%20bpg%20Twilight.pdf The Twilight of Westminster? Electoral Reform & its Consequences], Pippa Norris, 2000. Category:Political systems Category:Westminster System Category:Democracy Category:Systems

Parliament

:This article is about the legislative institution. For alternative meanings, see: Parliament (disambiguation). Parliament (disambiguation).]] A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system derived from that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French parlement, the action of parler (to speak): a parlement is a talk, a discussion, hence a meeting (an assembly, a court) where people discuss matters. While all parliaments are legislatures, not all legislatures are parliaments. The British Parliament is often referred to as the "Mother of Parliaments"—in fact a misquotation of John Bright, who remarked in 1865 that "England is the Mother of Parliaments"—because the British Parliament has been the model for most other parliamentary systems, and its Acts have created many other parliaments. The first English Parliament was formed during the reign of King Henry III in the 13th century. In the United Kingdom, Parliament consists of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Monarch. The House of Commons is composed of over 600 members who are directly elected by British citizens to represent various cities, communities, and other electoral districts. The party that can win the most seats in the House of Commons forms the government, and the party leader becomes the Prime Minister and head of government. Legislation originates from and is voted on by members of the House of Commons. If passed, it goes to the House of Lords. The House of Lords is a body of long-serving, unelected members: 92 of whom inherit their seats and 574 of whom have been appointed to lifetime seats. The Lords must vote to approve all legislation from the House before it can go before the monarch and receive the formal ratification to become a law (however, under certain circumstances the House of Commons may overrule it using the Parliament Acts). In addition, specific members of the House of Lords act as the ultimate court of appeal in the United Kingdom. In a similar fashion, most other nations with parliaments have to some degree emulated the British, "three-tier" model. Most countries in Europe and the Commonwealth have similarly organized parliaments with a largely ceremonial head of state who formally opens and closes parliament, a large elected lower house and a smaller, upper house. The lower house is almost always the originator of legislation, and the upper house is the body that offers the "second look" and decides whether to veto or approve the bills. This style of two houses is called bicameral; also parliaments with only one house exist (see unicameralism). A parliament's lower house is usually composed of at least 200 members, in countries with populations of over 3 million. The number of seats rarely exceeds 400, even in very large countries. The upper house customarily has anywhere from 20, 50, or 100 seats, but almost always significantly fewer than the lower house. A nation's prime minister ("PM") is almost always the leader of the majority party in the lower house of parliament, but only holds his or her office as long as the "confidence of the house" is maintained. If members of parliament lose faith in the leader for whatever reason, they can often call a vote of no confidence and force the PM to resign. This can be particularly dangerous to a government when the distribution of seats is relatively even, in which case a new election is often called shortly thereafter. Parliaments can be contrasted with congresses in the model of the United States. Typically, congresses do not select or dismiss the head of government, and cannot themselves be dissolved early as is often the case for parliaments.

List of parliaments

:List is not exhaustive

Contemporary national parliaments

- European Parliament
- Pan-African Parliament
- Central American Parliament
- Parliament of Australia
- Parliament of Canada :
- The federal government of Canada has a bicameral parliament, and each of Canada's 10 provinces has a unicameral parliament.
- Parliament of the Fiji Islands
- Parliament of France (Parlement)
- Parliament of Germany - The Bundestag
- Hungarian Parliament Building (Országház)
- Parliament of India consisting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
- Parliament of Israel - The Knesset
- Parliament of Italy (Parlamento Italiano)
- Parliament of Malaysia
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro
- Parliament of Singapore
- Parliament of South Africa
- Parliament of Sri Lanka
- Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago
- Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Scottish Parliament

Equivalent national legislatures

- Majlis, e.g. in Iran
- in Afghanistan : Wolesi Jirga (elected, legislative lower house) and Meshrano Jirga (mainly advisory, indirect representation); in special cases, e.g. as constituant assembly, a Loya Jirga

Defunct

- Parliament of Ireland (1200-1801 AD)
- Parliament of Southern Ireland (1921-1922)
- Parliament of Northern Ireland (1921-1973)

Subnational parliaments

- In the federal (bicameral) kingdom of Belgium, after many constitutional contortions but no violent confrontation, there is a curious asymmetrical constellation serving as directly elected legislatures for three 'territorial' regions -Flanders (Dutch language), Brussels (bilingual, certain peculiarities of competence, also the only region not comprizing any of the 10 provinces) and Walloonia (French)- and three cultural communities -Flemish (Dutch language, competent in Flanders and for the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels), Francophone (French language, for Walloonia and francopones in Brussels) and German (for speakers of that language in a a few designated municipalities in the east of the Walloon Region, always alongside francophones but under two different regimes)
- Vlaams Parlement ('Flemish Parliament'; originally styled Vlaamse Raad 'Flemish Council') served both the Flemish Community (whose same it uses) and, in application of a Belgian constitutional option, of the region of Flanders (in all matters of regional competence, its decisions have no effect in Brussels)
- parliament of the French Community
- parliament of the German Community
- parliament of the Walloon region
- parliament of the Brussels 'capital' region;
- within the capital's regional assembly however, there also exist two so-called Community Commissions (fixed numbers, not an automatical repartition of the regional assembly), a Dutch-speaking one and a francophone one, for various matters split up by linguistic community but under Brssels' regional competence, and even 'joint community ccmmissions' consisting of both for certain instititutions that could be split up but aren't

Parliament

List of parliaments

:List is not exhaustive

Contemporary national parliaments

Equivalent national legislatures

Defunct

- Parliament of Ireland (1200-1801 AD)
- Parliament of Southern Ireland (1921-1922)
- Parliament of Northern Ireland (1921-1973)

Subnational parliaments

Private bill

A private bill is the term used for legislation that originates from a particular member of a legislature or parliament or from a member of the public. Private bills developed in the United Kingdom as a means of obtaining redress from a specific wrong or obtaining a benefit that was not otherwise available through statute or the common law. There are many examples of such private legislation in democratic countries. In Canada prior to the passage of the Divorce Act in 1968 it was only possible to obtain a legislative divorce. This required an application to the Canadian Senate which reviewed and investigated petitions for divorce. The final report of the committee handling the case would then be voted upon by the Senate and subsequently made into a Canadian law. In the United Kingdom Parliament, private bills were used in the nineteenth century to create corporations, grant monopolies and give individuals rights in excess of the public law. Their use has become more limited in the twentieth century as statutory law and statutory instruments have enabled many previous situations to be dealt with through other legislative mechanisms. In the United States private bills were common between 1817 and 1971. Now federal agencies are able to deal with most of the issues that were previously dealt with under private bills as these agencies have been granted sufficient discretion by Congress to deal with exceptions to the general legislative scheme of various laws. The kinds of private bills that are still introduced include grants of citizenship to individuals who are otherwise ineligible for normal visa processing; alleviation of tax liability; armed services decorations and veteran benefits. Private bills in the United States have been in the news recently, as on March 21, 2005, Congress passed a private bill to provide relief to the parents of Terri Schiavo, by allowing them a hearing in federal district court as to whether their daughter, a woman in a persistent vegetative state since 1990, should have her feeding tube removed.

External links

- [http://www.house.gov/rules/98-628.htm Private bills in the US House of Representatives]
- [http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/l04.pdf Private Bill Fact Sheet] UK House of Commons (PDF file)
- [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/chron-tables/private/index.htm Privates Acts of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom]
- [http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/privlaw/index.html List of Private Laws in Canada] Category:Parliamentary law

Bill (proposed law)

A bill is a proposed new law introduced within a legislature that has not been ratified or adopted.

How a bill becomes a law in the United States

Any member of Congress is able to introduce a bill, making him or her the sponsor of that particular bill. The congressperson introduces the bill by giving it to a clerk or depositing it into a box called a hopper. Each bill has a unique number, such as HR1 for a bill introduced in the House of Representatives or SR1 for a bill introduced in the Senate. Next the Speaker of the House or the officer of the Senate refers the bill to a committee. There are specific rules that dictate to which committee the bill will be sent, but a choice is often possible. A bill may also be referred to multiple committees at once, called multiple referral. After the bill is heard in the first committee or subcommittee, it is "marked up," or revised, often extensively. The bill needs a majority vote from the committee to move forward. Once the bill is submitted for consideration by the committee, it is sent to the chamber whence it originally came and voted upon (though there are several ways a bill can be dropped and never voted on). Depending on the type of bill, either a simple majority or a supermajority of either 60 percent or 2/3 is needed for the bill to pass the chamber. Once the bill is passed by one chamber, it is sent to the other. Upon reaching the other chamber, it is treated just like any other newly proposed bill. It goes through the committee process and if passed, it goes to the floor of the entire chamber. The bill is subject to revision at every step of the process, so it often bears little resemblance to the original bill. In fact, it's not uncommon for a bill's sponsor to vote against it in the end. Revisions are most commonly added in the form of Amendments, many of which have little or nothing to do with the original bill. Sometimes an amendment called a poison pill is attached specifically to get the bill killed. Someone with enough influence in a committee may craft an amendment they know that no one who supports the bill wants in order to get them to vote against their own bill. Another common tactic is to attach amendments for pet projects to a popular bill to make it easier to get them through. Pork barrel spending is often approved this way. Once the bill has passed both houses, it goes to a Conference Committee. This is to reconcile the differences virtually always present between the versions passed by each house. Once the Conference Committee reaches an agreement, the bill must again be voted upon by both houses. If it passes, the bill goes to the President of the United States. He can either sign it, veto it or take no action at all. Signing the bill makes it law. If he vetoes the bill, it is sent back to the house that referred it to him. They vote on it again and pass it to the other house. If both houses pass the bill again with 2/3 majorities, the bill automatically becomes law. The third option, no action at all, can lead to two separate consequences, depending on what happens in the next 10 days. Once 10 days expire, Congress can pick the bill up and pass it into law without the President's signature. However, they must be in session in order to take this action. If they are not in session, the bill is treated as if it had been vetoed. This is called a Pocket Veto, and the bill will be waiting for Congress when they return from recess. If they override veto on a 2/3 vote in both houses, it becomes law. Otherwise it dies.

External link

United States

- [http://www.ncleg.net/NCGAInfo/Bill-Law/bill-law.html How a law is made]. From the North Carolina General Assembly

United Kingdom

- BBC Parliament Guide:
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2290085.stm Making new law]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2290403.stm Types of bill]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2295875.stm Bill procedure]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2297381.stm First reading]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2298827.stm Second reading]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2298941.stm Commons committee stage]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2300537.stm Lords committee stage]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2300667.stm Report stage]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2306475.stm Third reading]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2306571.stm Passage through the other House]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2327561.stm Royal assent]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2306919.stm Delegated legislation] Category:Statutory law

House of Representatives

House of Representatives is a name used for legislative bodies in many countries. Often, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often called a 'senate'. In other countries, the House of Representatives is the sole chamber of a unicameral legislature. The functioning of a house of representatives can vary greatly from country to country, and depends on whether a country has a parliamentary or a presidential system. Members of a house of representatives are typically apportioned according to population rather than geography. "The House of Representatives" is the name of the lower house of parliament in the following countries: In the following countries it is the sole chamber in a unicameral system: In Indonesia, the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) is generally known in English as the "House of Representatives", as is the Dewan Rakyat of the Parliament of Malaysia. House of Representatives is the title of most, but not all, of the state legislatures of the States of the United States of America. Under apartheid, the House of Representatives was the house for South Africa's mixed race 'Coloured' community, in the tricameral parliament of 1984-1994.

House of Lords

:This article is about the British House of Lords. For the historical Irish body, see Irish House of Lords. The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Parliament also includes the Sovereign and the lower house, the House of Commons. The House of Lords has 730 members. The House of Lords is an unelected body, consisting of two archbishops and 24 bishops of the established Church of England ("Lords Spiritual") and 706 members of the Peerage ("Lords Temporal"). Lords Spiritual serve as long as they continue to occupy their ecclesiastical positions, whereas Lords Temporal serve for life. Members of the House of Lords are known as "Lords of Parliament". The House of Lords originated in the 14th century and has been in almost continuous existence since. The name 'House of Lords' was not used as a name for the Upper House until 1544. It was abolished in 1649 by the revolutionary government that came to power during the English Civil War, but was restored in 1660. The House of Lords (the "Upper House") was once more powerful than the elected House of Commons (the "Lower House"). Since the 19th century, however, the powers of the House of Lords have been steadily declining; now, the Upper House is far weaker than its elected counterpart. Under the Parliament Acts (passed in 1911 and 1949) all legislation excluding "money bills" (including the Budget) passed by the House of Commons can be delayed for twelve months, but cannot be rejected. This power is called a suspensive veto in political science. Reforms were enacted under the House of Lords Act 1999, which removed the automatic hereditary right of peers to sit in the Upper House. A small number retain seats because they hold office as Great Officers of State, and an additional 92 are elected as representative peers. Additional reforms are contemplated by the current Labour Government, but have not been passed into law. In addition to performing legislative functions, the House of Lords also holds judicial powers: it constitutes the highest court of appeal for most cases in the United Kingdom. The judicial functions of the House of Lords are not performed by the whole Chamber, but rather by a group of members with legal experience, who are known as "Law Lords". The House of Lords is not the only court of last resort in the United Kingdom; in some cases, that role is fulfilled by the Privy Council. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 will transfer the judicial functions of the Lords to a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom when it comes into effect. The full, formal style of the House of Lords is: The Right Honourable The Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament Assembled. The House of Lords, like the House of Commons, meets in the Palace of Westminster.

History

Parliament developed from the council that advised the King during mediæval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, and representatives of the counties (afterwards, representatives of the boroughs as well). The first Parliament is often considered to be the "Model Parliament" (held in 1295), which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and boroughs. The power of Parliament grew slowly, changing as the strength of the monarchy grew or declined. For example, during much of the reign of Edward II (1307–1327), the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1322, the authority of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or royal charter, but by an authoritative statute, passed by Parliament itself. Further developments occurred during the reign of Edward II's successor, Edward III. Most importantly, it was during this King's reign that Parliament clearly separated into two distinct chambers: the House of Commons (consisting of the shire and borough representatives) and the House of Lords (consisting of the senior clergy and the nobility). The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during the early fifteenth century, both Houses exercised powers to an extent not seen before. The Lords were far more powerful than the Commons, due to the great influence of the aristocrats and prelates of the realm. The power of the nobility suffered a relapse due to the civil wars of the late fifteenth century, known as the Wars of the Roses. Much of the nobility was either decimated on the battlefield or executed for participation in the war, and many aristocratic estates were lost to the Crown. Moreover, feudalism was dying, and the feudal armies controlled by the barons became obsolete. Hence, the Crown easily re-established its absolute supremacy in the realm. The domination of the Sovereign continued to grow during the reigns of the Tudor monarchs in the 16th century. The Crown was at the height of its power during the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547). The House of Lords remained more powerful than the House of Commons, but the Lower House did continue to grow in influence, reaching its zenith in relation to the House of Lords during the middle 17th century. Conflicts between the King and the Parliament (for the most part, the House of Commons) ultimately led to the English Civil War during the 1640s. In 1649, after the defeat and execution of King Charles I, a republic (the Commonwealth of England) was declared, but the nation was truly a dictatorship under Oliver Cromwell. The House of Lords relapsed into a largely powerless body, with Cromwell and his supporters in the Commons dominating the Government. On 19 March 1649, the House of Lords was abolished by an Act of Parliament, which declared that "The Commons of England [find] by too long experience that the House of Lords is useless and dangerous to the people of England." The House of Lords did not assemble again until the Convention Parliament met in 1660 and the monarchy was restored. It returned to its former position as the more powerful chamber of Parliament—a position it would occupy until the 19th century. The 19th century was marked by several changes to the House of Lords. The House, once a body of only about 50 members, had been greatly enlarged by the liberality of George III and his successors in creating peerages. The individual influence of a Lord of Parliament was thus diminished. Moreover, the power of the House as a whole experienced a decrease, whilst that of the House of Commons grew. Particularly notable in the development of the Lower House's superiority was the Reform Bill Crisis of 1832. The electoral system of the House of Commons was not, at the time, democratic but antediluvian: property qualifications greatly restricted the size of the electorate, and the boundaries of many of the constituencies had not been changed for centuries. Entire cities such as Manchester were not represented by a single individual in the House of Commons, but the 11 voters of Old Sarum retained their ancient right to elect two Members of Parliament. A small borough was susceptible to bribery, and was often under the control of a patron, whose nominee was guaranteed to win an election. Some aristocrats were patrons of numerous "pocket boroughs", and therefore controlled a considerable part of the membership of the House of Commons. When, in 1831, the House of Commons passed a Reform Bill to correct some of these anomalies, the House of Lords rejected the proposal. The popular cause of reform, however, was not abandoned by the ministry, despite a second rejection of the bill in the Lords in 1832. The Prime Minister, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, then advised the King to overwhelm the opposition to the bill in the House of Lords by creating about 80 new pro-Reform peers. William IV originally baulked at the proposal, which effectively threatened the opposition of the House of Lords, but at length relented. Before the new peers were created, however, the Lords who opposed the bill admitted defeat, and abstained from the vote, allowing the passage of the bill. The crisis damaged the political influence of the House of Lords, but did not altogether end it. Over the course of the century, however, the power of the Upper House experienced further erosion, and the Commons gradually became the stronger branch of Parliament. William IV (above), precipitated a political crisis in 1909.]] The status of the House of Lords returned to the forefront after the election of a Liberal Government in 1906. In 1908, the Government under Herbert Henry Asquith introduced a number of social welfare programmes, which, together with an expensive arms race with Germany, had forced the Government to seek more funding in the form of tax increases. In 1909, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George, introduced the "People's Budget", which proposed a new tax targeting wealthy landowners. The unpopular measure, however, failed in the heavily Conservative House of Lords. Having made the powers of the House of Lords a primary campaign issue, the Liberals were re-elected in January 1910. Asquith then proposed that the powers of the House of Lords be severely curtailed. Proceedings on the bill were briefly interrupted by the death of King Edward VII, but were soon recommenced under the new monarch, George V. After a General Election in December 1910, the Asquith Government secured the passage of a bill to curtail the powers of the House of Lords. The Prime Minister proposed, and the King agreed, that the House of Lords could be flooded by the creation of 500 new Liberal peers if it failed to pass the bill. (This was the same device used earlier to force the Upper House to consent to the passage of the Reform Act 1832.) The Parliament Act 1911 soon came into effect, destroying the House of Lords' power to reject most bills. Money Bills (bills that dealt solely with matters related to revenue and public expenditures, such as the Budget) could be delayed by the House of Lords for no more than one month, and most other bills for no more than three parliamentary sessions or two calendar years. The Parliament Act 1911 was not meant to be a permanent solution; rather, more comprehensive reforms were planned. Neither party, however, pursued the matter with much enthusiasm, and the House of Lords remained primarily hereditary. In 1949, the Parliament Act was slightly modified, so that the delaying power of the House of Lords with respect to most bills was reduced from three sessions or two years to two sessions or one year. In 1958, the predominantly hereditary nature of the House of Lords was changed by the Life Peerages Act 1958, which authorised the creation of life baronies, with no numerical limits. In 1968, the Labour Government of Harold Wilson attempted to reform the House of Lords by introducing a system under which hereditary peers would be allowed to remain in the House and take part in debate, but would be unable to vote. This plan, however, was defeated in the House of Commons by a combination of traditionalist Conservatives (such as Enoch Powell) and Labour members who advocated the outright abolition of the Upper House (such as Michael Foot). When Michael Foot attained the leadership of the Labour Party, abolition of the House of Lords became a part of the party's agenda; under Neil Kinnock, however, a reformed Upper House was instead proposed. In the meantime, the creation of hereditary peerages (except for members of the Royal Family) has been arrested, with the exception of three creations during the administration of the Conservative Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

Reform

The Labour Party's return to power in 1997 under Tony Blair finally heralded the reform of the House of Lords. The Blair Government introduced legislation to remove all hereditary peers from the Upper House as the first step in Lords reform. As a part of a compromise, however, it agreed to permit 92 hereditary peers to remain until the reforms are complete. The hereditary peers were removed under the House of Lords Act 1999 (see below for its provisions). Since then however, reform has stalled. The Wakeham Commission proposed introducing a 20% elected element to the Lords, but this plan was widely criticised. A Joint Committee was established in 2001 to resolve the issue, but it reached no conclusion and instead gave Parliament seven options to choose from (fully appointed, 20% elected, 40% elected, 50% elected, 60% elected, 80%, and fully elected). In a confusing series of votes in February 2003 all of these options were defeated although the 80% elected option fell by just three votes. MPs favouring outright abolition voted against all the options. Another proposal was put forward by a group of MPs, proposing a 70% elected house, with most of the remainder appointed by a Commission to ensure a mix of skills, knowledge and experience. This proposal also did not reach the statute book. New peers, therefore, are only created by appointment to the house. The Labour Party now intends to introduce reform early in the next Parliament, although they are yet to state exactly what system they will be proposing. It is understood, however, that they may be inclined to support Billy Bragg's Secondary Mandate system. The Conservative Party favour an eighty per cent elected Second Chamber, while the Liberal Democrats are calling for a fully elected Senate. Elect the Lords is a cross-party campaign initiative that was set up to make the case for a predominantly elected Second Chamber in the run up to the 2005 general election. The post-election Queen's Speech saw an announcement that the government "will bring forward proposals to continue the reform of the House of Lords" in the 2005/2006 legislative session. The Times reported on July 19 2005 that Labour Party proposals would see the House of Lords 80% elected and renamed the "Second Chamber."

Lords Spiritual

Members of the House of Lords who sit by virtue of their ecclesiastical offices are known as Lords Spiritual. Formerly, the Lords Spiritual comprised a majority in the House of Lords, including the Church of England's archbishops, diocesan bishops, abbots, and priors. After 1539, however, only the archbishops and bishops continued to attend, for the Dissolution of the Monasteries suppressed the positions of abbot and prior. In 1642, during the English Civil War, the Lords Spiritual were excluded altogether, but they returned under the Clergy Act 1661. The number of Lords Spiritual was further restricted by the Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847, and by later acts. Now, there can be no more than 26 Lords Spiritual, always including the five most important prelates of the Church: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Durham, and the Bishop of Winchester. Membership of the House of Lords also extends to the 21 longest-serving other diocesan bishops of the Church of England. The Church of Scotland is not represented by any Lords Spiritual; being a Presbyterian institution, it has no archbishops or bishops. The Church of Ireland did obtain representation in the House of Lords after the union of Ireland and Great Britain in 1801. Of the Church of Ireland's ecclesiastics, four (one archbishop and three bishops) were to sit at any one time, with the members rotating at the end of every parliamentary session (which normally lasted approximately one year). The Church of Ireland, however, was disestablished in 1871, and ceased to be represented by Lords Spiritual. The same is true for the Church in Wales which was disestablished in 1920. The current Lords Spiritual, therefore, only represent the Church of England.

Lords Temporal

Since the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Lords Temporal have been the most numerous group in the House of Lords. Unlike the Lords Spiritual, they may be publicly partisan. Publicly non-partisan Lords are called cross-benchers. Originally, the Lords Temporal included several hereditary peers (that is, those whose peerages may be inherited), who ranked variously as dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, barons, and lords of Parliament. Such hereditary dignities are created by the Crown, in modern times on the advice of the Prime Minister of the day. Reforms enacted in 1999 (see above) caused several hundred hereditary peers to lose their seats in the House of Lords. The House of Lords Act 1999 provides that only 92 individuals may continue to sit in the Upper House by virtue of hereditary peerages. Two hereditary peers remain in the House of Lords because they hold hereditary offices connected with Parliament: the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain. Of the remaining 90 hereditary peers in the House of Lords, 15 are elected by the whole House. Seventy-five hereditary peers are chosen by fellow hereditaries in the House of Lords, grouped by party. The number of peers to be chosen by a party reflects the proportion of hereditary peers that belongs to that party (see current composition below). When an elected hereditary peer dies, a by-election is held, with a variant of the Alternative Vote system being used. If the recently deceased hereditary peer was elected by the whole House, then so is his or her replacement; a hereditary peer elected by a specific party is replaced by a vote of elected hereditary peers belonging to that party (whether elected as part of that party group or by the whole house). The Lords Temporal also include the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, a group of individuals appointed to the House of Lords so that they may exercise its judicial functions. Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, more commonly known as Law Lords, were first appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. They are selected by the Prime Minister, but are formally appointed by the Sovereign. A Lord of Appeal in Ordinary must retire at the age of 70, or, if his or her term is extended by the Government, at the age of 75; after reaching such an age, the Law Lord cannot hear any further legal cases. The number of Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (excluding those who are no longer able to hear cases due to age restrictions) is limited to twelve, but may be changed by statutory instrument. Lords of Appeal in Ordinary traditionally do not participate in political debates, so as to maintain judicial independence. Lords of Appeal in Ordinary hold seats the House of Lords for life, remaining members even after reaching the retirement age of 70 or 75. Former Lord Chancellors and holders of other high judicial office may also sit as Law Lords under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, although in practice this right is infrequently exercised. After the coming into force of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary will become judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and will be barred from sitting or voting until they retire as judges. The largest group of Lords Temporal, and indeed of the whole House, are life peers. Life peers with seats in the House of Lords rank only as barons or baronesses, and are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958. Like all other peers, life peers are created by the Sovereign, who acts on the advice of the Prime Minister. By convention, however, the Prime Minister allows leaders of other parties to select some life peers so as to maintain a political balance in the House of Lords. Moreover, some non-party life peers (the number being determined by the Prime Minister) are nominated by an independent House of Lords Appointments Commission. If an hereditary peer also holds a life peerage, he or she remains a member of the House of Lords without a need for an election. In 2000, the government announced it would set up an Independent Appointments Commission, under Lord Stevenson of Coddenham, to select fifteen so-called "People's Peers" for life peerages. However, when the choices were announced in April 2001, from a list of 3,000 applicants, the choices were treated with criticism in the media, as all were distinguished in their field, and none were "ordinary people" as some had originally hoped. In many historical instances, some peers were not permitted to sit in the Upper House. When Scotland united with England to form Great Britain in 1707, it was provided that the Scottish hereditary peers would only be able to elect 16 representative peers to sit in the House of Lords; the term of a representative was to extend until the next general election. A similar provision was enacted in respect of Ireland when that kingdom merged with Great Britain in 1801; the Irish peers were allowed to elect 28 representatives, who were to retain office for life. Elections for Irish representatives ended in 1922, when most of Ireland became an independent state; elections for Scottish representatives ended with the passage of the Peerage Act 1963, under which all Scottish peers obtained seats in the Upper House.

Qualifications

Peerage Act 1963 Several different qualifications apply for membership of the House of Lords. No person may sit in the House of Lords if under the age of 21. Furthermore, only Commonwealth citizens and citizens of the Republic of Ireland may sit in the House of Lords. The nationality restrictions were previously more stringent: under the Act of Settlement 1701, and prior to the British Nationality Act 1948, only natural-born subjects were qualified. Additionally, some bankruptcy-related restrictions apply to members of the Upper House. A person may not sit in the House of Lords if he or she is the subject of a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (applicable in England and Wales only), or if he or she is adjudged bankrupt (in Northern Ireland), or if his or her estate is sequestered (in Scotland). A final restriction bars an individual convicted of high treason from sitting in the House of Lords until completing his or her full term of imprisonment. An exception applies, however, if the individual convicted of high treason receives a full pardon. Note that an individual serving a prison sentence for an offence other than high treason is not automatically disqualified. Finally, some qualifications apply only in the case of the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. No person may be created a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary unless he or she has either held "high judicial office" for two years, or has been a practising barrister for fifteen years. The term "high judicial office" encompasses membership of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, of the Inner House of the Court of Session (Scotland), or of the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland. Women were formerly ineligible to sit in the House of Lords, even if they held peerages in their own right. It was only in 1958 that women were admitted to the House of Lords; the Life Peerages Act passed in that year granted seats to all life peeresses. Hereditary peeresses, however, continued to be excluded until the passage of the Peerage Act 1963. Since the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999, hereditary peeresses remain eligible for election to the Upper House. All women in the House of Lords are amongst the Lords Temporal; the Church of England does not presently permit the consecration of female bishops, though this issue is currently under consideration, with many observers expecting female bishops in the near future.

Officers

Unlike the House of Commons, the House of Lords does not elect its own Speaker; rather, the ex officio presiding officer is the Lord Chancellor (as of 2005, The Rt Hon. The Lord Falconer of Thoroton). The Lord Chancellor is not only the Speaker of the House of Lords, but also a member of the Cabinet; his or her department, formerly the Lord Chancellor's Department, is now called the Department for Constitutional Affairs. In addition, the Lord Chancellor is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales, serving as the President of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. Thus, the Lord Chancellor is a part of all three branches of Government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. In June 2003, the Blair Government announced its intention to abolish the post of Lord Chancellor, due to the office's mixed executive and judicial responsibilities. However, the abolition of the office was rejected by the House of Lords, and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 preserves the office of Lord Chancellor, though ammended. The Act no longer guarantees that the office holder of Lord Chancellor is the presiding officer of the House of Lords and allows for the House of Lords to elect a Speaker of their own. For the time being however, the Lord Chancellor will continue to act as the presiding officer, until at least the new rules of speakership are created. Speaker The Lord Chancellor may be replaced as presiding officer by one of his or her deputies. The Chairman of Committees, the Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees, and several Deputy Chairmen of Committees are all deputies to the Lord Chancellor, and are all appointed by the House of Lords itself. By custom, the Crown appoints each Chairman, Principal Deputy Chairman, or Deputy Chairman to the additional office of Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords. There is no legal requirement that the Lord Chancellor or a Deputy Speaker be a member of the House of Lords, though the same has long been customary. Whilst presiding over the House of Lords, the Lord Chancellor wears ceremonial black and gold robes. The Lord Chancellor or Deputy Speaker sits on the Woolsack, a large red seat stuffed with wool, at the front of the Lords Chamber. When the House of Lords resolves itself into committee (see below), the Chairman or a Deputy Chairman presides, not from the Woolsack, but from a chair at the Table of the House. The presiding officer has little power compared to the Speaker of the House of Commons. He or she only acts as the mouthpiece of the House, performing duties such as announcing the results of votes. The Lord Chancellor or Deputy Speaker cannot determine which members may speak, or discipline members for violating the rules of the House; these measures may be taken only by the House itself. Unlike the politically neutral Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chancellor and Deputy Speakers remain members of their respective parties, and may participate in debate. Another officer of the body is the Leader of the House of Lords, a peer selected by the Prime Minister. The Leader of the House is responsible for steering Government bills through the House of Lords, and is a member of the Cabinet. The Leader also advises the House on proper procedure when necessary, but such advice is merely informal, rather than official and binding. A Deputy Leader is also appointed by the Prime Minister, and takes the place of an absent or unavailable Leader. The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk and officer of the House of Lords (but is not a member of the House itself). The Clerk, who is appointed by the Crown, advises the presiding officer on the rules of the House, signs orders and official communications, endorses bills, and is the keeper of the official records of both Houses of Parliament. Moreover, the Clerk of the Parliaments is responsible for arranging by-elections of hereditary peers when necessary. The deputies of the Clerk of the Parliaments (the Clerk Assistant and the Reading Clerk) are appointed by the Lord Chancellor, subject to the House's approval. The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod is also an officer of the House; he takes his title from the symbol of his office, a black rod. Black Rod (as the Gentleman Usher is normally known) is responsible for ceremonial arrangements, is in charge of the House's doorkeepers, and may (upon the order of the House) take action to end disorder or disturbance in the Chamber. Black Rod also holds the office of Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Lords, and in this capacity attends upon the Lord Chancellor. The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod's duties may be delegated to the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod or to the Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms.

Procedure

Serjeant-at-Arms The House of Lords and the House of Commons assemble in the Palace of Westminster. The Lords Chamber is lavishly decorated, in contrast with the more modestly furnished Commons Chamber. Benches in the Lords Chamber are coloured red; thus, the House of Lords is sometimes referred to as the "Red Chamber". The Woolsack is at the front of the Chamber; supporters of the Government sit on benches on the right of the Woolsack, whilst members of the Opposition sit on the left. Neutral members, known as Cross-benchers, sit on the benches immediately opposite the Woolsack. The Lords Chamber is the site of many formal ceremonies, the most famous of which is the State Opening of Parliament, held at the beginning of each new parliamentary session. During the State Opening, the Sovereign, seated on the Throne in the Lords Chamber and in the presence of both Houses of Parliament, delivers a speech outlining the Government's agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session. In the House of Lords, members need not seek the recognition of the presiding officer before speaking, as is done in the House of Commons. If two or more Lords simultaneously rise to speak, the House decides which one is to be heard by acclamation, or, if necessary, by voting on a motion. Often, however, the Leader of the House will suggest an order, which is thereafter generally followed. Speeches in the House of Lords are addressed to the House as a whole ("My Lords") rather than to the presiding officer alone (as is the custom in the Lower House). Members may not refer to each other in the second person (as "you"), but rather use third person forms such as "the noble Duke", "the noble Earl", "the noble Lord", "my noble friend", etc. Each member may make no more than one speech on a motion, except that the mover of the motion may make one speech at the beginning of the debate and another at the end. Speeches are not subject to any time limits in the House; however, the House may put an end to a speech by approving a motion "that the noble Lord be no longer heard". It is also possible for the House to end the debate entirely, by approving a motion "that the Question be now put". This procedure is known as Closure, and is extremely rare. Once all speeches on a motion have concluded, or Closure invoked, the motion may be put to a vote. The House first votes by voice vote; the Lord Chancellor or Deputy Speaker puts the question, and the Lords respond either "Content" (in favour of the motion) or "Not-Content" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote, but if his assessment is challenged by any Lord, a recorded vote known as a division follows. Members of the House enter one of two lobbies (the "Content" lobby or the "Not-Content" lobby) on either side of the Chamber, where their names are recorded by clerks. At each lobby are two Tellers (themselves members of the House) who count the votes of the Lords. The Lord Chancellor or Deputy Speaker may vote from the Woolsack. Once the division concludes, the Tellers provide the results thereof to the presiding officer, who then announces them to the House. If there is an equality of votes, the motion is decided according to the following principles: legislation may proceed in its present form, unless there is a majority in favour of amending or rejecting it; any other motions are rejected, unless there is a majority in favour of approving it. The quorum of the House of Lords is just three members for a general or procedural vote, and 30 members for a vote on legislation. If fewer than three or 30 members (as appropriate) are present, the division is invalid.

Committees

The Parliament of the United Kingdom uses committees for a variety of purposes; one common use is for the review of bills. Committees of both Houses consider bills in detail, and may make amendments. In the House of Lords, the committee most commonly used for the consideration of bills is the Committee of the Whole House, which, as its name suggests, includes all members of the House. The Committee meets in the Lords Chamber, and is presided over not by the Lord Chancellor, but by the Chairman of Committees or a Deputy Chairman. Different procedural rules apply in the Committee of the Whole House than in normal sessions of the Lords; in particular, members are allowed to make more than one speech each on a motion. Similar to the Committee of the Whole House are the Grand Committees, bodies in which any member of the House may participate. A Grand Committee does not meet in the Lords Chamber, but in a separate committee room. No divisions are held in Grand Committees, and any amendments to the bill require the unanimous consent of the body. Hence, the Grand Committee procedure is used only for uncontroversial bills. Bills may also be committed to Public Bill Committees, which consist of between twelve and sixteen members each. A Public Bill Committee is specifically constituted for a particular bill. A bill may also be referred to a Special Public Bill Committee, which, unlike the Public Bill Committee, has the power to hold hearings and collect evidence. These committees are used much less frequently than the Committee of the Whole House and Grand Committees. The House of Lords also has several Select Committees. The members of these committees are appointed by the House at the beginning of each session, and continue to serve until the next parliamentary session begins. The House of Lords may appoint a chairman for a committee; if it does not do so, the Chairman of Committees or a Deputy Chairman of Committees may preside instead. Most Select Committees are permanent, but the House may also establish ad hoc committees, which cease to exist upon the completion of a particular task (for instance, investigating the reform of the House of Lords). The primary function of Select Committees is to scrutinise and investigate Government activities; to fulfil these aims, they are permitted to hold hearings and collect evidence. Bills may be referred to Select Committees, but are more often sent to the Committee of the Whole House and Grand Committees. The committee system of the House of Lords also includes several Domestic Committees, which supervise or consider the House's procedures and administration. One of the Domestic Committees is the Committee of Selection, which is responsible for assigning members to many of the House's other committees.

Legislative functions

quorumMost legislation may be introduced in either House, but, most commonly, is introduced in the House of Commons. The power of the Lords to reject a bill passed by the House of Commons is severely restricted by the Parliament Acts. Under those Acts, certain types of bills may be presented for the Royal Assent without the consent of the House of Lords. The House of Lords cannot delay a money bill (a bill that, in the view of the Speaker of the House of Commons, solely concerns national taxation or public funds) for more than one month. Other public bills cannot be delayed by the House of Lords for more than two parliamentary sessions, or one calendar year. These provisions, however, only apply to public bills that originate in the House of Commons, and do not have the effect of extending a parliamentary term beyond five years. A further restriction is a constitutional convention known as the Salisbury Convention, which means that the House of Lords does not seek to oppose legislation promised in the Government's election manifesto. By a custom that prevailed even before the Parliament Acts, the House of Lords is further restrained insofar as financial bills are concerned. The House of Lords may neither originate a bill concerning taxation or Supply, nor amend a bill so as to insert a taxation or Supply-related provision. (The House of Commons, however, often waives its privileges and allows the Upper House to make amendments with financial implications.) Moreover, the Upper House may not amend any Supply Bill. The House of Lords formerly maintained the absolute power to reject a bill relating to revenue or Supply, but this power was curtailed by the Parliament Acts, as aforementioned. Hence, as the power of the House of Lords has been severely curtailed by statute and by practice, the House of Commons is clearly the more powerful chamber of Parliament.

Judicial functions

The judicial functions of the House of Lords originate from the ancient role of the Curia Regis as a body that addressed the petitions of the King's subjects. The judicial functions of the House of Lords are exercised not by the whole House, but by a group of "Law Lords". The bulk of the House's judicial business is conducted by the twelve Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, who are specifically appointed for this purpose under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act. The judicial functions may also be exercised by Lords of Appeal (other members of the House who happen to have held high judicial office). No Lord of Appeal in Ordinary or Lord of Appeal may sit judicially beyond the age of seventy-five. The judicial business of the Lords is supervised by the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and his or her deputy, the Second Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. The jurisdiction of the House of Lords extends, in civil and in criminal cases, to appeals from the courts of England and Wales, and of Northern Ireland. From Scotland, appeals are possible only in civil cases; Scotland's High Court of Justiciary is the highest court in criminal matters. The House of Lords is not the United Kingdom's only court of last resort; in some cases, the Privy Council performs such a function. The jurisdiction of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom, however, is narrower than that of the House of Lords; it encompasses appeals from ecclesiastical courts, issues related to