Law

Complete the definitions for the following words.  

COMP 2 Section C – Criminal Law TERMS 

• YORKSHIRE RIPPER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qyhp5rETw4Y&t=1274s 

• JAMIE BULGER MURDER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfwF4Gce2qY 

Extra: Reading Task – Parliamentary Law Making  

In A-level law, one of the topics to consider how law is made by Parliament and how the judges apply them  

in cases that come before the courts. In this activity we will concentrate on how a proposal for a new law (known as a Bill) becomes an Act of Parliament (a law).  

Parliament: Parliament is the supreme law-making body in the UK. This means only Parliament has authority to make laws.  Most of the laws are proposed by the Government but it is Parliament who are responsible for making the Acts of Parliament (also known as statutes).    

Parliament is divided into two Houses: The House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of  

Commons is made up of the Members of Parliament (MPs) elected by the people at a general election. The  

House of Lords includes peers (eg Lord Sugar) and senior members of the church (eg the archbishop of  

Canterbury).  These MPs and Lords are from all the political parties, not just the party in power.  

Almost every suggested piece of legislation passes through both Houses of Parliament and must be agreed  

by them both before it is given Royal Assent by the Monarch.   

The formal law-making process  

An Act of Parliament starts as a Bill and must go through a set procedure to become an Act of Parliament.  

Most Bills start in the House of Commons. There are five stages to this formal process. When the process is  

completed the Bill passes to the House of Lords and goes through the same five stages. The Bill moves back  

and forth between the two Houses until both Houses vote in favour of the final version. Not all Bills become  

law.  If both the House of Commons and the House of Lords approve the Bill, it will receive Royal Assent by  

the Monarch (currently King Charles) to become a law.  

The five stages which repeat in each House are as follows:  

1. First Reading – The Bill is introduced to the House.  The title is read out. A vote is taken to decide if it should  

continue to the next stage. Often, the person proposing the Bill will be a Government Minister. For  

example, if the Bill relates to schools, the Government Minster for Education will introduce the Bill.  

2. Second Reading – The House debates the Bill.  Normally the Minister who introduced the Bill will start the debate.  There is another vote to decide if the Bill should pass to next stage.  

3. Committee Stage – A committee of cross-party MPs will a special interest in the subject matter of the Bill, will scrutinise the Bill.  This means they will examine it in detail. In the House of Lords, it is often the  

whole House which scrutinises the Bill.  They will go through the Bill, line-by-line, seeking  

amendments were necessary.   

4. Report Stage – The committee reports back to the House, and a vote is taken on any changes that have been made.  

5. Third Reading – A final vote is taken to decide whether the bill should proceed to the other House.   

Parliamentary Ping-Pong. The Bill will pass back and forth between the House of Commons and the House of Lords until all the amendments are approved.  This is known as parliamentary ping-pong.  

6. Royal Assent – Once both Houses have approved the Bill it is sent to the Monarch who gives Royal Assent to the Bill. It then becomes a law. 

Lever Arch Folder x2, dividers, note pad lined paper 

Printed pages from the specifications relevant to our courses 

Email address Grewal.K@allsaints.notts.sch.uk 

For the best chance of a quick reply, please do this before summer break. Emails during the summer break will get replies but may take longer.