Types of Bills

A Bill is a proposal for a new law. Most Bills are introduced into Parliament by the Government; some will be implementing policies that were promised in its election manifesto and others will be responding to economic and social issues as they develop.

There are two main kinds of Bill - Public Bills and Private Bills.

Public Bills are intended to affect the public as a whole and change the general law. They are Government Bills and Private Members' Bills. The majority of Public Bills that become Acts of Parliament are introduced by a government Minister and are known as Government Bills. When a new government comes to power after a general election, it will normally have a number of policies it wishes to put into effect. Where necessary it will try to change the law by introducing Bills into Parliament. Each Bill will be piloted through Parliament by a Minister from the appropriate Government Department. Government Bills usually succeed in getting through Parliament because the Government has a majority in the House of Commons. Private Members' Bills are sponsored by individual MPs. Many Private Members' Bills fail to complete their passage through Parliament, either through lack of support or, more likely, because of shortage of time. Government business is usually given priority and Private Members' Bills can get squeezed out. To be successful a Private Members' Bill ideally needs to be non-controversial and have the support of the Government.

Private Bills are only intended to affect one particular area or organization. They are promoted by organisations outside the House (e.g. local authorities or companies) to obtain powers for themselves in excess of or in conflict with the general law. They should not be confused with Private Members' Bills, which are a type of Public Bill. In practice, only a few Private Bills are now considered each session.

Hybrid Bills are Public Bills which may affect the specific private rights of people or bodies. They are generally introduced by the Government, but are fairly rare.

Task 5. See if you can give answers to the following questions.

1. What is a Bill?

2. What body are most Bills introduced into Parliament by?

3. What are the purposes of introducing Bills?

4. What are the main two kinds of Bills?

5. What are public Bills aimed at?

6. Who are private Bills promoted by?

7. What is the characteristic feature of a Hybrid Bill?

Unit 4. Law-Making Process

Task 1. Read the text and outline its key points dealing with the law-making process in the UK Parliament.

Preparatory Stages of a Government Bill

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White Papers are documents produced by the Government setting out details of future policies on a particular subject before these policies are formally presented as a Bill.

efore Bills are introduced into Parliament, consultations take place with those who are likely to be affected by the Bill. These interested parties are professional bodies, voluntary organisations and pressure groups. The consultation stage may be organised by the Government Department sponsoring the Bill. Within a Department, both the ministers and permanent officials, known as civil servants, are involved in the consultation process.

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Green Papers are consultation documents produced by the Government when a Government Department is considering introducing a new law. The aim of these is to allow people both inside and outside Parliament to debate the subject and give the department feedback on its suggestions

ometimes the Government sets out its ideas for a Bill in a discussion document or consultation paper known as a Green Paper which outlines government proposals that are still taking shape and seek comments from the public. After this discussion stage, the Department may produce firm proposals in a White Paper. This will form the basis of the Bill to be introduced into Parliament. Not all Bills are initiated through Green Papers and White Papers. Discussions take place before most Bills are introduced into Parliament, but these written documents are not always circulated to outside organisations.

The process of putting the terms of a Bill down on paper is known as drafting. A small number of lawyers are specially trained for this work. The Bill has to be exact and must not leave any loopholes. The Parliamentary Draftsmen therefore have to make sure that a particular sentence cannot be taken to mean more than one thing unlike the following sentence, taken from an American law:

"No one shall carry any dangerous weapon upon the public highway, except for the purpose of killing a noxious animal or a policeman in the execution of his duty."

This sentence, as it is written, is ambiguous for it seems to suggest that people are allowed to kill policemen as well as animals which, of course, is not what was intended.

Task 2. Find answers in the text to the following questions.

1. What bodies and officials are involved in the consultation stage?

2. What is the difference between Green Papers and White Papers?

3. What is drafting?

4. What professionals are specially trained for drafting?

5. What should Parliamentary Draftsmen be particularly careful about?

Task 3. Render the following text into English paying special attention to the words and expressions in bold type.