Lawmaking Process in the uk

Study the following meanings of the word LEGISLATION:

1. The process of enacting a law in written form by a branch of government constituted to perform this process.

2. The law so enacted.

3. The whole body of enacted laws.

The UK legislative body is Parliament. Every year it passes about a hundred laws directly, by making Acts of Parliament. A Government Bill has to pass through several stages in Parliament, each having a clear purpose. Most stages are known as 'readings' because in the days before printing, the only way in which Members could find out what a Bill said was by having the contents read out in each Chamber.

First Reading (Introducing a Bill)

The First Reading is a way of letting Members know that a Bill is coming up for discussion. There is no vote on the First Reading, so a Bill automatically go through that stage. Then it is printed so that Members have a chance to read it and decide what they think about it.

Second Reading (Explaining the purpose of the Bill)

This is an important stage of a Bill, when its main purpose is explained and general questions answered by the Minister in charge.

Committee Stage (Looking at the details)

It is during the Committee Stage that MPs are, for the first time, allowed to examine all the detail of a Bill and suggest some changes or amendments to it. Most Government Bills are considered by small committees of between 15 MPs known as Standing Committees.

Report Stage (Further consideration and changes by the whole House)

After the Committee Stage, the whole House of Commons has to be told what changes have been instituted since only a small number of Members are involved in the committee meetings. If there have been amendments, the Bill will be reprinted before the Report Stage so that Members could see how the changes fit into the Bill as a whole. MPs can suggest further changes if they want to. The Report Stage is not necessary if the Bill has been considered by a Committee of the Whole House.

Third Reading (Overall examination of the Bill)

At this stage the House of Commons is given a chance to look again at the Bill as a whole, with all its amendments, and decide whether it should go any further. The Bill cannot be changed substantially at this stage - it is either accepted or rejected. Once a Bill has passed its Third Reading in the Commons, it is forwarded to the House of Lords for further consideration.

To spread legislative workload more evenly between the two Houses a sizeable proportion of all Bills begins in the House of Lords. The Act of 1949 provides that any Public Bill passed by the Commons in two successive parliamentary sessions and rejected both times by the Lords, may be presented for the Royal Assent, even though it has not been passed by the Lords. The Lords, therefore, can only delay the passage of a Public Bill, they cannot reject it. The stages of a Bill in the House of Lords are pretty much the same as those in the House of Commons. Any changes made to a Bill in the House of Lords have to be considered in the House of Commons. The Commons normally accept most of the Lords' amendments which are non-controversial.

The Royal Assent

Once both Houses of Parliament have passed a Bill, it has to go to the Queen for the Royal Assent. No monarchs since the sixteenth century have signed Bills themselves. Queen Anne, whose reign was notable for the emergence of the two-party political system, in 1707, became the last monarch to reject a Bill, while Queen Victoria was the last to give the Royal Assent in person in 1854.

These days the Queen signs a document which commands certain Lords to inform the members of both Houses that the Royal Assent has been given. Though the Queen always knows which Bills she is consenting to, it is unlikely that she reads through the contents of every Bill before giving the Royal Assent because she is aware of the fact that both Houses of Parliament have already considered the Bill very carefully. However, most important Bills are sure to be mentioned in some of her weekly meetings with the Prime Minister.

Once a Bill has received the Royal Assent it becomes an Act of Parliament.

TASK 1. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following key words and expressions:

"комитет всей палаты", палата, действующая как комитет; постоянный комитет; процесс рассмотрения Билля в комитете; дальнейшее рассмотрение; входить в состав комитета; отложить принятие законопроекта; спорный; принять / отклонить законопроект; знать что-либо; вносить поправки; голосование по первому чтению

TASK 2. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the origin of the term 'Reading'?

2. What is the role of the House of Lords in lawmaking process?

3. When is the Report Stage not necessary?

4. What power of the Lords has been curtailed?

5. What is the role of the Royal Assent in making a law?

TASK 3. Rearrange paragraphs in the text and put them in the correct order:

Making New Law

(...) Finally, the Bill goes to the reigning monarch for the Royal Assent. All Bills must pass through both houses before being sent for signature by the Queen, when they become Acts of Parliament and the Law of the Land.

(...) Nowadays the Royal Assent is merely a formality. In theory, the Queen can still refuse to sign the Bill, but she always signs them.

(...) The Bill then goes to one of the Houses for the report stage, when it can be amended. If passed after its third reading, it goes to the other house. Amendments made to a Bill by the House of Lords must be considered by the Commons. In case the House of Commons does not agree, the Bill is altered and sent back to the Lords for reconsideration. If disagreement between the two Houses persists, the Commons prevails. The House of Lords has no power to deal with money Bills, but it can table them.

(...) New legislation in Britain usually starts in the House of Commons which play the major role in law-making. However the House of Lords also has the power to initiate legislation. In each House a Bill is considered in three stages, called readings. The first reading is purely formal, to introduce the bill. The second reading is usually the occasion for debate. After the second reading the bill is examined in detail by a committee.

TASK 4. Match the English expressions with their Russian equivalents:

1	draft legislation	a)	внести законопроект
2	proposed legislation	b)	выступить с законодательной
3	to adopt/ pass legislation	c)	инициативой
4	to examine legislation	d)	законопроект
5	to frame legislation	e)	обнародовать законопроект
6	to initiate legislation	f)	пересматривать законопроект
7	to introduce legislation	g)	предложенный законопроект
8	to promulgate legislation	h)	принять законодательство
9	to revise legislation	i)	разрабатывать законопроект

TASK 5.Speak on the legislation in the UK.