INTRODUCTION
Law making involves the proposal and drafting of a bill, followed by its review, debate, and voting by the legislative body to determine its passage or rejection as a law. There are several stages in the British Parliament for the Bill to become an act. The procedure of adopting the public, private, and money bill is essentially different, while that of passing the Government and private member’s Bill is different at the initial stages only.
KINDS OF COMMITTEES
Following are the Kinds/types of committees:
1. Committee of the Whole House:
The committee of the House consists of the whole House, excluding the speaker or his deputy speaker if he is presiding. The speaker’s departure signifies several other changes that distinguished the meetings of the committee of the whole House from the sittings of the House itself.
2. Standing Committees:
Every Bill must go from one committee to another. Most bills go from the second Reading to standing committees unless the House resolves that Bill. Almost all public statements except money bills go upstairs to a standing committee.
3. Select Committees:
Select committees are appointed to investigate and report upon specific measures or questions involving some new principle or subject that has not yet come before the House as a bill. Select committees usually consist of 13-30 members chosen based on expert or technical knowledge of the matter referred for investigation.
4. Joint Committees:
Joint committees consist of members from both houses, i.e., the House of Commons and the House of Lords of Parliament. They are usually set up in exceptional cases of non-controversial nature.
5. Bil Committees:
These committees are appointed to dispose of private bills in the Parliament. The committee of selection selects their members. It works impartially, like a law court, and the House always accepts reports, whether for or against a bill.
DEFINITION OF BILL
A bill is a draft of a proposed new law. A draft is Initiated as an account, and when it is passed, it becomes an act.
TYPES OF BILLS
The kinds/types of bills are the following:
(A) PUBLIC BILLS:
A bill that affects purpose or purposes concerns a large selection, e.g., a Bill for compulsory primary education. Public statements are subdivided as follows:
1. Money Bill:
It relates to the collection or appropriation of public funds and is certified as a money bill by the speaker. The government constantly introduces it.
2. Non-Money Bill:
Non-money bills are introduced either by the Government when they are called government bills, and in other cases by private members, they are called private member bills
(a) Government Bills: They are initiated on the floor of the House from government benches.
(b) Private Member Bills: They are introduced by Private members.
(B) PRIVATE BILLS:
A private bill relates to the privileges or interests of some locality: Municipality or other particular person or body of persons, e.g., an account to control private schools.
PROCEDURE OF LAW-MAKING
The law-making procedure is the outcome of an evolutionary process spreading over centuries. Its norms are based on past usages. The law-making process is an intricate and sensitive affair involving technicalities and obscurities. Since divergent interpretations of a law may be given. Hence, for a bill to become an act, it has to pass through many stages.
PROCEDURE IN RESPECT OF BILLS
A Bill has to go through five stages in each House of Parliament, but they have two earlier phases: drafting and introduction in the House and the last phase of Royal Assent at the end.
1. DRAFTING OF A BILL:
A government Bill is prepared initially under the supervision of the Minister concerned, and later, the Cabinet examines it thoroughly. Finally, it is submitted for technical refinement to the draftsman, who compiles it in a classified form.
2. INTRODUCTION OF A BILL:
Bills can be introduced in any House of the Parliament. But specific Bills can be explicitly trained in a particular chamber, e.g. all statements relating to the judiciary should be introduced in the upper room. In contrast, money bills originate in the lower section. The Cabinet first approves a government bill, and then the ministry concerned introduces it to the House of Commons.
FIRST READING: A notice is given in advance regarding introducing a Bill. A day is then fixed for its opening. On that day, the sponsor of the Bill places it on the table of the House, and the Bill is read out & then published. There is no discussion or comments in the House at this stage.
SECOND READING: On the appointed day for the Second Reading, the sponsor reads out the Bill. It is an essential stage as there is a heated discussion on the Bill. If most members vote in its favour, it is considered passed in the Second Reading.
COMMITTEE STAGE: After passing in the Second Reading, the Bill is referred to the concerned committee of the House. In the committee, the Bill is discussed minutely, section by section, amendments are made if necessary, and then sent back to the House concerned.
REPORT STAGE: When the Bill is sent to the House concerned, it is again discussed here, and amendments can also be suggested.”
THIRD READING: After the report stage comes to the final stage of the Bill in the House concerned, the Third Reading. Now, the general debate takes place. An amendment already made in the Bill is discussed. No fresh amendments can be moved except verbal. After all this, the Bill is read for the third time and is put to voting. The Bill is sent to the other House 1 if a majority passes.
3. PROCESS IN THE SECOND CHAMBER/HOUSE OF LORDS:
In the other House, the Bill has to go through the same stages, i.e. first Reading, second Reading, committee stage, report stage, third Reading, etc. In this case, the second House is the House of Lords, and if it does not approve of the Bill already passed by the House of Commons, it may repass the Bill & send it for the permission of the King.
4. ROYAL ASSENT:
After the House of Parliament has passed the Bill, it is sent to the King for assent. According to a convention, the King must assent to a Bill passed by the Parliament. When passed by the sovereign, it becomes an Act of the Parliament and is published in the Statute Book.
5. CONTROVERSY OVER BILLS:
A bill passed by one House at amendment by another one is sent back, and if two House do not agree, an attempt is made to reach some settlement by exchange of written messages. According to the Parliament Act of 1949, the House of Lords cannot delay a bill more than one year.
PROCEDURE OF PASSING PRIVATE BILLS
The procedure of passing private bills differs slightly from that of passing public bills. A petition has to be attached to such a Bill at the time of its introduction. The examiner on the Petition examines it to ensure that specific requirements are met. Affected parties have to be served notice in their context.
If the examiner certifies that requirements have been met, the initiator can introduce the Bill. If the Bill is not opposed at the Second Reading, it is referred to the Committee of unopposed bills; it is to the Committee of private accounts.
This committee consists of four House of Commons members and five House of Lords members. After receipt of the report, the standard procedure of law-making is adopted.
CONCLUSION
The Parliament debates bills, motions, etc. The law begins as a bill. A lot of care and caution has to be taken to avoid all probable ambiguities. The Bill is read three times in each House of Parliament and, after receiving Royal assent, becomes an Act of Statute.
FAQs
Name the kinds of committees that exist in the House of Commons. What procedure is followed by them?
(2016-S)
Discuss the law-making process in the British Parliament and mention various committees.
(2013-S)
Discuss the process of law-making in the bicameral Parliament of the UK.
(2011-A)
Outline the various steps of law-making in England.
(2010-A)
