STATUTE LAW IN
BRITAIN
Unit 3
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1. Introduction: statute, legislation, parliament
2. Common law vs. Statute law
3. Parliamentary sovereignty
3. Parliament: functions, composition
4. House of Commons: elections
5. House of Lords: hereditary peers, life peers
6. Law-making procedure
7. Types of bills
8. Statute book
9. Statutory interpretation
10. Legal terms
11. Exercises
Statute: Definition
An established written law, an Act of
Parliament
An express and formal laying-down of a
rule or rules of conduct to be observed in
the future by persons to whom the
statute is expessly, or by implication,
made applicable
Parliament: Definition
 Elected group of representatives who
form the legislative body which votes the
laws of a country
Legislation
 The process of making or enacting a positive
law in written form, according to some type of
formal procedure, by a branch of government
constituted to perform this process
 Also: lawmaking; statute-making
 Translation equivalents:
 Zakonodavstvo; donošenje zakona
Common law vs. statute law
 In today’s world: a need for new law to
meet new situations
 Precedent – not suitable for major
changes to the law, nor is it sufficiently
quick, efficient law-making method for a
modern society
Common law vs. statute law
 Judges - not elected by the people
 In a democracy, laws should only be
made by the elected representatives of
society
 The main legislative body in the UK:
Parliament
Common law v. Statute law
Statute
Judgment
(a) Creates new law
Usually disclaims any attempt to
create new law
Usually applies an existing law
(precedent) to a particular set of
circumstances
Gives reasons
(b) Lays down general rules for
the guidance of future
conduct
(c) Is imperative
Statute law
 Laws passed by Parliamnet: Acts of
Parliament or statutes
 60-70 Acts passed each year
Parliament
 The only body which has the right to
enact a new law, or alter or reverse a
law which Parliament itself has passed
 Any law passed by Parliament which
clashes with, or alters or reverses any
part of the common law automatically
takes precedence
The Sovereignty of Parliament
 Parliament is legislatively supreme and
can make and unmake (=repeal) laws to
any extent
 Any Act passed by Parliament which is
of general application is absolutely
binding on all persons within the sphere
of Parliament’s jurisdiction
Sovereignty of Parliament
 However controversial a statute may be,
a judge is bound to enforce its
provisions, although there may be some
scope for judges to interpret a new
statute in a particular way
 EU law takes precedence in the event of
conflict with statute or common law
Functions of Parliament
 To pass laws
 To provide, by voting for taxation, the
means of carrying on the work of
government
 To scrutinise government policy and
administration
 To debate the major issues of the day
The British Parliament
 The Queen
 The House of Commons
 The House of Lords
Elections
 The UK: 650 geographical parts:
constituencies
 At least once every five years a General
Election is held
 Those who wish to stand for Parliament
are called candidates
Elections
 The candidate who gets the most votes
in a constituency is elected to become its
MP
 Most MPs belong to political parties
(Conservative, Labour, or Liberal
Democrat MP)
Elections
 Candidates – voted for as individuals
 If for instance a Labour MP resigns or
dies while in office, another Labour
candidate will not automatically take
over; there must be a new election in this
constituency (by-election)
Elections
 Each political party – manifesto: a
document setting out its aims and the
policies it proposes to implement to
achieve them
Elections
 The party with an overall majority of MPs
- asked by the Queen to form the
Government
 Prime Minister is appointed to lead the
Government
 He forms his Cabinet from the important
members of his party
Elections
 When no one party has a sufficient majority, or
when a national emergency occurs, a coalition
government may be formed by two or more
parties temporarily uniting
 The Cabinet forms its policies and turns to
legislation as the means of carrying the policies
into effect, e.g. The Local Government Act,
1972
The House of Commons
 Elected by universal adult suffrage
 The chief officer of the House of
Commons – the Speaker, elected by
MPs to preside over the House
The House of Lords
 Lords Spiritual
 Lords Temporal
Lords Spiritual
 Archbishops of Canterbury and York and
leading Bishops, representatives of the
Church of England (26 in total)
Lords Temporal
 Hereditary Peers
 Life Peers
Hereditary peers
 Those whose titles are passed down
from generation to generation
 ‘peers by succession’ – they have
succeeded to the titles of their ancestors
The House of Lords Act 1999
 Hereditary peers lost the right to sit and
vote in the House of Lords; 92 hereditary
peers allowed to remain in the House for
a transitional period
 A small number have been made Life
Peers
Life Peers
 Peers for their lifetime; cannot pass their
titles on to their children
 Distinguished in politics, education,
business, law, arts, etc.
 Membership in the House of Lords: a
wide range of highly talented people
The House of Lords
 Not able to change or delay any laws
which relate to finance and taxation
 Power to hold up legislation of which
they disapprove for a certain period of
time
 Power to check, influence or alter
legislation
Parliament Act 1911
 If a Bill is passed by the House of
Commons but rejected by the House of
Lords twice in two successive years, it
may immediately be presented to the
Queen for her Assent without obtaining
the Lords’ further approval
Law-Making Procedure
 1. Preparatory stage
 2. First Reading
 3. Second Reading
 4. Committee stage
 5. Report stage
 6. Third Reading
 7. Passage through the other House
 8. Royal Assent
Preparatory stages
 The government may initiate a
consultative process by the publication
of a Green Paper to attract public
response and comment
Green paper
 a tentative government report and
consultation document of policy
proposals for debate and discussion,
without any commitment to action—the
first step in changing the law.
 Green papers may result in the
production a white paper
White paper
 A white paper is an authoritative report
or guide helping readers understand an
issue, solve a problem, or make a
decision
White paper
 The government’s White Papers contain
their more definite proposals; often
published following consultation or
discussion with pressure groups,
professional bodies, or voluntary
organisations
First Reading
 The title of the prepared Bill is read to
the House of Commons
 Acts as a notification of the proposed
measure
 The Bill is printed and published
Second reading
 The Minister or Member in charge of the
Bill explains its purpose and the main
issues of policy involved
 The debate – limited to the purpose of
the Bill and the means proposed for
giving it effect
 The House votes on the Bill
 If the Bill survives the vote it passes to
the next stage
Committee stage
 The Bill is dealt with by:
 A) A committee of the whole House,
 B) A select committee, or
 C) A standing committee
Committee Stage
 A Select Committee – constituted on a
party basis, while a Standing Committee
is composed of 20-50 Members
appointed to examine Public Bills, which,
after a second reading, are not passed
to a committee of the whole House or to
Select Committees
 The purpose: to consider the details of
the Bill clause by clause
The Report stage
 The committee reports back to the
House, and any proposed amendments
are debated and voted upon
 The amendments made in the committee
are considered by the House, which may
make any additional amendments
Third Reading
 A Bill is reviewed in its final form and
may be debated again
 The debate is confined to verbal
amendments only, not the principles of
the Bill
Passage through the other
House
 After the third reading a Commons Bill is
sent to the Lords where it has to pass all
the required stages again
 Amendments made by the second
House must be agreed by the first, or a
compromise reached, before a Bill can
become law
Passage through the other
House
 If agreement is impossible, the
Commons can invoke its powers under
the Parliament Acts, 1911 and 1949
whereby it may present the Bill for Royal
Assent after one year without the
agreement of the Lords
 A Money Bill must originate in the
Commons and may be delayed by the
Lords for one month only
Parliament Act 1949
 reduced the Lords’ power to delay a bill
to a single year, by altering the wording
of the 1911 Act.
 the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
should be construed together
Royal Assent
 When a Bill has passed through all its
parliamentary stages, it is sent to the
Queen for Royal Assent, after which it is
part of the law of the land and known as
an Act of Parliament
 The Royal Assent has not been refused
since 1707
Royal Assent
 May be given by the Queen personally or by
three Lords Commissioners
 The Royal Assent Act, 1967, provides that an
Act is duly enacted if the Royal Assent is
notified to each House of Parliament, sitting
separately, by the Speaker of that House
 When Royal Assent is given, the Bill becomes
an Act of Parliament and takes effect
immediately
Types of Bills
 Public Bills – introduced by the
Government
 Private Members Bills – proposed by
MPs
 Private Bills – proposed by a local
authority, etc.
Public Bills
 Written by parliamentary counsel who
specializes in drafting legislation
 Presented to Parliament by Government
ministers and change the general law of
the whole country
Private Members’Bills
 At the beginning of a Parliamentary
Session (a session lasts one year), the
Cabinet lays down its legislative
programme
 It is still possible for a Private Member
(i.e. an MP who is not a member of the
Government) to introduce a Bill
Private Members’ Bills
 If the Private Member’s Bill is of general
importance and receives the support of
the House it may be adopted by the
Government and so form part of its
legislative programme
Private Members’ Bills
 Relatively few Private Members’ Bills
become law, but some important laws
have been passed as result of such Bills:
Matrimonial Causes Act, 1937, Murder
(Abolition of Death Penalty) Act, 1965
Abortion Act 1967, Marriage Act 1994
Private Bills
 Two types:
 1) Local
 2) Personal
Local Bills
 Purely local matters
 Where a local authority or other public
body wishes to acquire additional
powers not available under the general
law, it may obtain them by the promotion
of a private Bill
Local Bills
 Construction or alteration of bridges,
canals, docks, ports, roads, railways,
tramways, waterworks, etc.;
 extending the powers of local
authorities,
 gas, electricity or other public utility
undertakings
Personal Bills
 Relate to private estates, names,
naturalization, divorce, peerage etc.
Obsolescence
 Social conditions change
 Some case law may therefore have to be
disregarded on account of obsolescence
 Statute law does not become obsolate
on account of age
Obsolescence
 Ashford v. Thornton (1818): the plaintiff
asserted that a right to trial by battle was
available to him under a statute of Henry
II
 This long forgotten statute was repealed
the year after its existence was revealed
by the plaintiff’s application
Obsolescence
 The Treason Act, 1351, is still law
despite its age, and was invoked in 1946
to prosecute a British subject
broadcasting enemy propaganda during
the Second World War (Joyce v. Director
of Public Prosecutions, 1946)
Obsolescence
 Though statute law does not become
obsolete by reason of age, there are
some Acts which are so inappropriate
that in practice they are not enforced:
e.g. The Sunday Observance Act, 1677,
forbids meetings of people out of their
parishes on Sunday for any sports or
pastimes
Statute book
 All laws passed by Parliament which are
still in force
 There should be no conflict of meaning
between a new statute and an old one
The state of the statute book
 In theory the whole of the law could be
set out clearly and logically in statutory
form; decided cases would be useful
only as interpreting the statutes, and
important decisions could be
incorporated by amendment
 In practice: the same subject may be
divided between many statutes and the
same statute may contain bits of several
subjects
Consolidation and Codification
 A statute and its amending Acts can be
gathered together into a single
“consolidating” Act, but even a
consolidation statute is unlikely to state
the whole law on the subject
 The process of setting out both statute
law and common law is called
codification
Codification
 Codification may mean a complete
statement of all the law of a given State,
and not, as in England, certain parts only
 The French Civil Code, Germany,
Switzerland
Citation of statutes
 1) by the short title, which includes the
calender year (e.g. The Fatal Accidents
Act 1846)
 2) by the regnal year or years and the
chapter (e.g. 9 & 10 Vict. c. 93)
 3) a compromise of the two (e.g. The
Fatal Accidents Act 1846 (c. 93)
 The chapter indicates the number of the
statute
The parts of a statute
 The main body of a statute is divided into
sections, and sections may be divided
into subsections
 A subdivision following an opening part
is called a paragraph
 Subsections have a number in brackets
while paragraphs have a letter in
brackets
The Theft Act 1968, s. 21
 “(1) A person is guilty of blackmail if, with a view
to gain for himself or another or with intent to
cause loss to another, he makes any
unwarranted demand with menaces; and for
this purpose a demand with menaces is
unwarranted unless the person making it does
so in the belief –
 (a) that he has reasonable grounds for making
the demand; and
 (b) that the use of the menaces is a proper
means of reinforcing the demand.”
Validity of Acts
 Parliamentary sovereignty precludes the
courts’ questioning Acts of Parliament
where there is no conflict with EU law
 There is no written constitution against
which the courts could test their
constitutionality, as does the Supreme
Court of the United States
Interpretation of statutes
 Statutes – drafted by Parliamentary
draftsmen, who are lawyers skilled in this
highly important work
 Despite the care taken to ensure that
statutes are clear and exact, in due time
legal actions will arise on points of doubt
and the courts will be called upon to
interpret the meaning and to adjudicate
Interpretation of statutes
 A statute usually contains an
interpretation section which explains the
meaning of words in that statute
Interpretation of statutes
 Section 34 of the Theft Act, 1968,
contains a definition of the words ‘goods’
as follows:
 ‘For the purpose of this Act “goods”,
except in so far as the context otherwise
requires, includes money and every
other description of property except land,
and includes things severed from the
land by stealing’
Statutory interpretation: reasons
why the meaning may be unclear
 A broad term
 Ambiguity
 A drafting error
 New developments
 Changes in the use of language
Interpretation of statutes
 The Literal Rule
 The Mischief Rule
 The Golden Rule
 The Eiusdem Generis Rule
 Expressio unius est exclusio alterius
 Noscitur a sociis
 The Exclusionary Rule
The literal rule
 Words must be given their literal
meaning
 Words in old statutes are given the
meaning they had when the statute was
passed
 Words appearing more than once must
be given the same meaning throughout
the Act
The mischief rule
 Also: the Rule in Heydon’s case (1584)
 Lays down that the court must look at
the Act to see what ‘mischief’ or defect in
the common law the Act was passed to
prevent
The mischief rule
 Four questions:
 1. what was the common law before the
Act was passed?
 2. What was the mischief and defect for
which the common law did not provide?
 3. What remedy had Parliament resolved
to provide?
 4. What was the true reason for the
remedy?
The Golden Rule
 ‘It is a very useful rule in the construction of a
statute to adhere to the ordinary meaning of the
words used, and to the grammatical
construction unless that is at variance with the
intention of the legislature to be collected from
the statute itself, or leads to any manifest
absurdity or repugnance, in which case the
language may be varied or modified so as to
avoid such inconveniance, but no further’
(Becke v. Smith, 1836)
Eiusdem Generis Rule
 Where general words follow specific
words, the general words must be
construed as applying to the persons or
things of the same class as those
already mentioned
 E.g. ‘dogs, cats and other animals’ –
does not include tigers and lions, for
‘other animals’ includes domestic
animals
Expressio unius est exclusio
alterius
 ‘the express mention of one thing implies
the exclusion of another’
 Where specific words are used in a
statute and are not followed by general
words, the statute applies only to those
things mentioned
Noscitur a sociis
 The meaning of a word can be
comprehended from its context
 Ambiguous or doubtful words may be
determined by reference to those words
appearing in association with them
The Exclusionary Rule
 Excludes reference to parliamentary
materials in interpreting an Act
 If the Act is ambiguous or obscure, or its
literal meaning leads to an absurdity, the
court may have regard to the Official
Report of Debates (Hansard) for
assistance in interpreting the Act
(Pepper v. Hart, 1993)
Points to remember
 Composition of Parliament
 Types of Bills
 Law-making procedure
 Statute book
Word formation
 Verb:
 Donositi zakone:
 legislate
 Adjective:
 zakonodavni
 legislative
 Nouns:
 zakonodavac
 legislator
Legislation
 “consists of the making of determinations
which are issued to indicated but
unnamed and unspecified persons or
situations”
Adjudication
 The act of giving a judgement or of
deciding a legal problem
 Izricanje presude; sudska odluka;
donošenje odluke
 Verb:
 adjudicate
 Suditi; riješiti sudskom odlukom
Legislation vs. adjudication
 “Legislation afffects the rights of
individuals in the abstract and must be
applied in further proceedings before the
legal position of an individual will be
touched by it, whilst adjudication opertes
concretely upon individuals in their
individual capacity”
Activity
 Look up a recent Act on the Internet. Try
the website: www.opsi.gov.uk
 Choose an Act and now search for the
debates in Parliament on that Act (try
www.parliament.uk)
Reading on the Internet
 Public Bills currently considered:
 http://www.parliament.uk/business/bills_
and_legislation.cfm
 Recent legislation:
 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts.htm
 Government’s explanatory notes:
 http:www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/uk_expa.htm
Exercise I
 Find verbs that can be used to make
word combinations with the words below.
There is more than one possibility for
three of the answers:
 Amend, codify, consolidate, enact, pass,
repeal, update
Exercise I: Amend, codify, consolidate,
enact, pass, repeal, update
 Parliament can:
 1. _____ Acts of Parliament
 Pass/enact
 2. _____new statutes.
 Enact/pass
 3. ______existing legislation.
 Amend/update
Amend, codify, consolidate, enact,
pass, repeal, update
 4._______obsolete law
 repeal
 5. _______statute law, case law, and
amendments into one Act.
 codify
 6. _____law by repealing and reenacting in one statute provisions of a
number of statutes on the same subject.
 consolidate
Exercise II
 Replace the underlined words with the
correct form of the following:
 approve, Bill, debate, drafting, enshrine,
introduce, propose, re-present, submit,
undertake
approve, Bill, debate, drafting, enshrine, introduce,
propose, re-present, submit, undertake
 N: How is new legislation enacted?
 C: Well, initially the (1) draft legislation
has to be (2) presented to both houses.
The draft is (3) discussed several times.
A committee has the job of checking that
the Bill (4) incorporates the fundamental
elements (5) agreed at the second
reading. After this, the Bill is (6) shown
again to the lower house.
approve, Bill, debate, drafting, enshrine, introduce,
propose, re-present, submit, undertake
 N: Who does the (7) formal writing of the
legislation?
 C: It’s done by qualified barristers
employed as civil servants, known as
Parliamentary Counsel.
 N: Who can (9) put forward Bills?
 C: The government and, less commonly,
MPs.
Answer
 Well, initially the (1) Bill has to be (2)
submitted/introduced/proposed to both
houses. The draft is (3) debated several
times. A committee has the job of
checking that the Bill (4) enshrines the
fundamental elements (5) approved at
the second reading. After this, the Bill is
(6) re-presented to the lower house.
Answer
 Who does the (7) drafting of the
legislation?
 C: It’s undertaken by qualified barristers
employed as civil servants, known as
Parliamentary Counsel.
 N: Who can (9)
propose/introduce/submit Bills?
 C: The government and, less commonly,
MPs.
Exercise III
 Use the following words to complete the
sentences:
 Abstentions, budget, consensus,
constitution, devolution, houses, leader,
leak, legislation, policy, membership,
poll, recess, spokesman, veto
: Abstentions, budget, consensus, constitution,
devolution, houses, leader, leak, legislation,
policy, membership, poll, recess, spokesman, veto
 1. Germany has a federal ____.
 constitution
 2. A government _____revealed that
discussions had been concluded on the
treaty.
 spokesman
,
Abstentions, budget consensus, constitution,
devolution, houses, leader, leak, legislation, policy,
membership, poll, recess
, spokesman, veto
 3. According to the latest opinion ___the
Prime Minister is more unpopular than
ever.
 poll
 4. Austria’s application for___of the EU
was successful.
 membership
,
Abstentions, budget consensus, constitution, devolution,
houses, leader, leak, legislation, policy, membership, poll,
recess, spokesman, veto
 5. Many Welsh would like to see more
___of power from Westminster.
 devolution
 6. Parliament has introduced ___to
control the sale of drugs.
 legislation
 7. The bill was passed by both ___and
sent to the President for signature.
 Houses
,
Abstentions, budget, consensus, constitution devolution,
houses, leader, leak, legislation, policy, membership, poll,
recess, spokesman, veto
 8. The crisis happened during the
summer___and Parliament had to be
recalled.
 recess
 9. The government is investigating the
latest____of documents relating to the
spy trial.
 leak
,
Abstentions, budget consensus, constitution, devolution,
houses, leader, leak, legislation, policy, membership, poll,
recess, spokesman, veto
 10. The government is running a tight
monetary___to try to control inflation.
 policy
 11. The___of the opposition criticised
the Prime Minister for his failure to act.
 leader
 12. The motion was carried by 200 votes
to 150; there were 60_____
 abstentions
,
Abstentions, budget consensus, constitution, devolution,
houses, leader, leak, legislation, policy, membership, poll,
recess, spokesman, veto
 13. The President has the power of ___over





bills passed by Congress.
veto
14. There is a ____between all the major
parties about what we should do now.
consensus
15. The minister has put forward a ____aimed
at slowing down the economy
veto
Additional information
 www.parliament.uk
 www.lexadin.nl/wlg/legis/nofr/legis.htm