Unit 4: The People, Parliament and the Courts as Law-Makers
Core concepts
Unit 4 focuses on how law is made and changed. Parliament is the sovereign law-maker; its legislative process (bill, readings, committee stage, royal assent) and its delegated legislation (regulations and by-laws made under enabling Acts) must be understood, with strengths and weaknesses of each. Courts make law through precedent and statutory interpretation - the literal, golden and purposive approaches, and the use of intrinsic and extrinsic materials.
You must be able to compare parliamentary and judicial law-making: parliament is proactive, democratic and can make broad reforms; courts are reactive, depend on cases being brought, and develop law incrementally. Also know the reasons for statutory interpretation (ambiguity, drafting errors, changing circumstances) and the effect of the Interpretation of Legislation Act.
Reform pressures include public opinion, media, lobby groups, and the courts themselves. Understand the relationship between the two law-makers: parliament can abrogate common law by statute, and courts interpret but cannot invalidate valid statutes.
Traps
- Claiming courts can repeal legislation - they cannot; only parliament can amend or repeal.
- Confusing delegated legislation with primary legislation; delegated legislation is made by the executive under authority.
- Treating judicial law-making as democratic - it is not elected and is retrospective in effect.
- Forgetting that a court's interpretation becomes binding precedent for lower courts.
Worked rule of thumb
When comparing law-makers, use the criterion grid: accessibility, responsiveness, democracy, speed, expertise, retrospectivity. State a strength, then pair it with the corresponding limitation for balance.