| |
More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
|
Act of Parliament
|
|
|
The instrument by which laws are created. The government presents to the House of Commons a bill, in effect a first draft. The First Reading is a purely formal announcement of the bill. Debate and the possibility of amendment begin with the Second Reading, followed by the committee stage – a more intense scrutiny by a *committee of MPs. After the Report Stage, at which amendments by the committee are debated in the House, and the Third Reading (usually without debate), the bill is passed to the House of Lords, where it will go through similar stages.
|
|
|
|
|
Any amendment by the Lords (not allowed on bills involving finance) will require further debate in the Commons. Once a bill has gone through this entire process, it requires only the *royal assent to become law as an act of parliament. (Bills can also start in the House of Lords, following a similar pattern before being transferred to the Commons.)
|
|
|
|
|
Since 1963 acts have been dated by the calendar year in which they received the royal assent. Previously the date was expressed as a regnal year – the year within the reign followed by the name of the monarch. Since the regnal year begins from the moment of accession, it invariably spans two calendar years. Thus 2 Victoria, the second year of her reign, lasted from 20 June 1838 to 19 June 1839.
|
|
|
|