Parliamentary Law-Making | English Legal System - İngiliz Hukuk Sistemi - Parlamento Tarafından Yasa Yapımı

 

UK Parliamentary Law-Making

Date: 27th October 2023

Introduction:

This document provides a summary of the UK’s parliamentary law-making process, based on the provided excerpt. It covers the structure of Parliament, the roles of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and the early stages of policy development leading to legislation. The primary focus is on how statutes are created within the Westminster system.

Key Themes & Ideas:

1. Democratic Basis of Law-Making:

• The UK’s constitutional framework emphasizes that law-making should be done through democratic means, a principle developed over time rather than through revolution.
• While common law (judge-made law) exists, the focus of this source is on statute law, created through Parliament.
• The UK system contrasts with the US where there was a specific revolution that established the current system.
• “...the concept of democracy is one that is deeply enshrined within the…lawmaking process of the UK’s constitution…”

1. Bicameralism:

• The UK Parliament operates under a system of bicameralism, meaning it is composed of two chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
• This is similar to other legislatures such as the US Congress but the UK system is not unique and other systems may have more (or fewer) chambers.
• “...bicameralism tells us…the legislature…is divided into two Chambers.”

1. The House of Commons:

• The House of Commons is the primary, democratically elected chamber of Parliament.
• It consists of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs), each representing a specific constituency across the UK.
• “...the United Kingdom is divided into…650 different…sectors…every single constituency has one Member of Parliament…”
• The political party with the majority of MPs in the House of Commons is conventionally invited by the Crown to form the government.
• “the political party that has the largest majority in the House of Commons is the one which will be invited by convention by the crown to form a government.”
• The government, by virtue of having a majority, largely controls the legislative agenda. This ties in with the notion of democratic legitimacy.
• "... the government…essentially controls the…timetable and the schedule for…parliament's legislative agenda."

1. The House of Lords:

• The House of Lords is the unelected ‘upper’ chamber of Parliament.
• “The House of Lords…is…the unelected branch of the Westminster Parliament.”
• Although colloquially referred to as the 'upper house', it has significantly less power than the House of Commons.
• “...the House of Lords actually has very little power compared that to the commons.”
• Historically, the House of Lords was more powerful but its powers have diminished over time as the concept of democratic legitimacy grew.
• “Historically the House of Lords was particularly powerful…but over…many centuries…the power of the House of Commons begins to grow…”
• The House of Lords has limited ability to block legislation, particularly due to the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949.
• The Salisbury convention further limits the Lords' power, preventing them from blocking legislation that was part of the governing party’s manifesto.
• “...the Salsbury convention tells us…a piece of legislation which is part of the winning party's Manifesto…the House of Lords cannot block that piece of legislation…”

1. Early Stages of Law-Making: Green and White Papers

• Government ministers are supported by civil servants who advise them on policy matters.
• “...government ministers will have a civil service employee…set of employees and the Civil Service will then be able to work for them…”
• The process of policy development leading to legislation involves various stages and is a long process.
• Before legislation is drafted, the government publishes "Green Papers" for consultation which seek to provide the government with some guidance on policy directions.
• “...a green paper is simply a document which outlines a topic of policy or of law reform… supposed to essentially give the government a certain amount of guidance as to the direction of which that policy ought to go.”
• These are followed by “White Papers” which present a more substantial, firm position on government policy.
• “...a white paper…is supposed to be a far more substantial position on what the government believes to be the correct course of action…”
• White papers serve as the foundation for drafting formal legislation, or 'bills'.

1. Role of the Crown:

• The source notes that the Crown (as it is currently) is responsible for inviting a particular political party to form a government.
• “... the conservative government was invited by the then queen of of the United Kingdom to go and um form a government in her name."
• The source also noted that the Royal Assent is a key stage in turning a bill into a piece of legislation.
• “...the role of the Crown in turning a bill into a piece of legislation through the conventional process of of Royal Ascent”

Conclusion:

The UK's law-making process is a complex system involving a blend of democratic principles and historical traditions. Parliament, composed of the elected House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords, is at the heart of this process. The transition from policy ideas to actual legislation is a multi-stage process that includes consultation and the publication of green and white papers. The process reflects the principle that law-making should, in the main, be done through democratically elected institutions. The key point is that the House of Commons holds the dominant role in the creation of legislation.

İngiliz Hukuk Sistemi - Parlamento Tarafından Yasa Yapımı

Bu brifing dokümanı, "Parliamentary Law-Making | English Legal System" başlıklı kaynaktan elde edilen bilgilere dayanarak, İngiliz hukuk sisteminde parlamentonun yasa yapma sürecini ana hatlarıyla özetlemektedir.

Ana Temalar:

• Demokratik Yasa Yapımı: İngiltere'de yasa yapımı, demokratik yöntemlerle gerçekleşir. Bu prensip, uzun yıllar içinde gelişmiş ve İngiliz Anayasası'nda derin kökler salmıştır.
• Parlamentonun Rolü: Statü yasaları (statutes) ve mevzuat (legislation), Parlamento aracılığıyla oluşturulur.
• Bicameralism (İki Meclislilik): İngiliz Parlamentosu, "bicameral" bir yapıya sahiptir, yani iki ayrı meclisten oluşur: Avam Kamarası (House of Commons) ve Lordlar Kamarası (House of Lords). Bu yapı, diğer ülkelerin yasama organlarına benzerlik gösterir (örneğin, ABD Kongresi).
• Avam Kamarası (House of Commons): Demokratik olarak seçilen 650 milletvekilinden (MPs) oluşur. Her milletvekili, bir seçim bölgesini temsil eder. En büyük çoğunluğa sahip olan siyasi parti, hükümeti kurma yetkisini alır ve yasama gündemini büyük ölçüde kontrol eder.
• Lordlar Kamarası (House of Lords): Seçilmemiş bir üst meclistir. Tarihsel olarak daha güçlü olmasına rağmen, günümüzde Avam Kamarası'na göre daha az yetkiye sahiptir. Lordlar Kamarası'nın yasaları engelleme yetkisi, Parlamento Yasaları (Parliament Acts) ve anayasal gelenekler ile sınırlanmıştır.
• Yeşil ve Beyaz Kitaplar (Green and White Papers): Hükümet politikalarının geliştirilmesi sürecinde önemli bir rol oynarlar. Yeşil kitaplar, politika veya yasa reformu konularını özetleyen ve danışma amaçlı rehberlik sağlayan belgelerdir. Beyaz kitaplar ise, hükümetin belirli bir konuda izlenecek doğru eylem planına ilişkin daha somut ve kapsamlı pozisyonunu ortaya koyar. Yeşil kitaplar, beyaz kitaplara dönüşebilir ve bu süreç, yasal düzenlemelere giden yolu açar.

En Önemli Fikirler/Olgular:

• Demokratik Legitimacy (Demokratik Meşruiyet): "it makes sense to suggest that the political party which was voted in as having the largest majority in the House of Commons commands the largest majority of support from the population of the United Kingdom and so as a result of which they ought to have uh the majority say in terms of The reigns of the legislative agenda." (Avam Kamarası'nda en büyük çoğunluğu elde eden siyasi partinin, Birleşik Krallık nüfusunun çoğunluğunun desteğini aldığı ve dolayısıyla yasama gündeminde çoğunluk sözüne sahip olması gerektiği mantıklıdır.)
• Salisbury Convention (Salisbury Sözleşmesi): "the Salsbury convention tells us that when we talk about uh a piece of legislation which is part of the winning party's Manifesto the convention is that the House of Lords cannot block that piece of legislation because not only are you in doing so blocking the legislation itself but you're also technically blocking the will of the people." (Salisbury Sözleşmesi, kazanan partinin seçim beyannamesinin bir parçası olan bir yasa söz konusu olduğunda, Lordlar Kamarası'nın bu yasayı engelleyemeyeceğini belirtir, çünkü bunu yapmak sadece yasanın kendisini engellemekle kalmaz, aynı zamanda teknik olarak halkın iradesini de engeller.)
• Green Papers (Yeşil Kitaplar): "a green paper is simply a document which outlines a topic of policy or of law reform um and essentially what that is supposed to do is try to provide the government with some kind of consultative guidance on the issue of that particular policy." (Yeşil kitap, basitçe bir politika veya yasa reformu konusunu özetleyen bir belgedir ve esasen hükümete bu belirli politika konusundaki danışma amaçlı rehberlik sağlamayı amaçlar.)
• White Papers (Beyaz Kitaplar): "a white paper on the other hand is then published and is supposed to be a far more substantial position on what the government believes to be the correct course of action in a particular set of circumstances." (Beyaz kitap ise yayınlanır ve hükümetin belirli bir durumdaki doğru eylem planı olduğuna inandığı konularda daha somut bir pozisyon sunması beklenir.)

Özet:

Bu kaynak, İngiliz hukuk sisteminde yasa yapma sürecinin temel ilkelerini ve adımlarını ana hatlarıyla açıklamaktadır. Parlamentonun demokratik yapısı, Avam Kamarası ve Lordlar Kamarası'nın rolleri ve yeşil/beyaz kitaplar gibi önemli belgeler, bu sürecin anlaşılması için kritik öneme sahiptir.

Bu doküman, İngiliz hukuk sisteminin temel özelliklerine kısa bir giriş sunmaktadır. Daha derinlemesine bir anlayış için ek kaynaklar incelenmelidir.