A LEVEL CRIMINOLOGY
UNIT 4 CONTENT – AC1.1 TO AC3.4
,Unit 4, AC1.1 – Describe the process used for Law Making
Governmental Process:
- Most laws in England and Wales are made in parliament by debating and
voting.
- When a new law is considered, there is a public consultation in the form of
a ‘green paper’.
- From this, the ‘white paper’ for formal proposal for reform is reproduced –
this allows for the bill to be represented in parliament.
- The bill begins in one of the houses and follows a number of stages:
First reading – This is where the title and the main aim of the bill
is read out a formal vote is taken.
Second reading - This is where the main debate takes place which
is followed by another vote.
Committee stage – This is where a chosen group of
representatives look at the bill closely to address any issues and
suggest appropriate amendments.
Report stage - This is where the chose group of representatives
report back to the House of Commons, who them vote on the
proposed amendments.
Third reading – This is where the final vote to accept or reject the
bill takes place.
- All of these stages are repeated in the House of Lords and the Royal
Assent provides a Royal Grant of Approval and is signed by the monarch.
The bill then becomes an Act of Parliament, and the commencement date
is given.
Judicial Process:
Judicial precedent:
- Is where the judge follows previously decided cases where the facts and the point of
law are sufficiently similar.
Case Study- Donoghue vs Stevenson (1932)
- 2 friends in a café each drank a bottle of ginger beer, one of which one had the
remains of a decomposing snail inside. The women who drank the beer felt very ill
and sued the manufacturer and won her case. The court decided a duty of care was
owed to the women – known as the neighbour principle. This case founded the
modern-day law of negligence.
- There are several reasons for not following a past decision if deemed appropriate,
such as distinguishing or overruling. This is only permitted by the senior courts.
- When there is no precedent, the judge must decide and give an original precedent.
Statutory Interpretations:
- Is the way in which lawyers and judges interpret the Acts of Parliament.
, - Words within acts can be very vague, as a result of this it may mean one thing to
somebody and also have another meaning to a different person.
- Lawyers will also argue for alternative interpretations of legislations to support a
client’s case.
There are 3 rules of statutory interpretations:
1. The Literal Rule:
- Under this rule, the intention of Parliament is considered as contained.
- The literal meaning of those words must be taken, and words must be given their
ordinary and natural meaning.
Fisher vs Bell (1960):
- A shopkeeper displayed a flick knife and the price in a shop window but hadn’t sold
any. He was charged. The court had to decide whether or not he was guilty of putting
the knife on for sale. It was argued he was advertising the knife/ His conviction was
later quashed as he had not manufactured, sold, hired, lent or given the goods to
anyone.
2. The Golden Rule:
- Was set up to avoid an interpretation which could lead to an absurd result.
Adler vs George (1964):
- The defendant was found trespassing on the RAF Air base and obstructed the
arresting officer. He was charged under Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act 1920 of
which he had done in the vicinity of a prohibited place. The defendant had argued he
was on the base. Using the Golden Rule, the judge interpreted the words as ‘close to
or in’ and George’s conviction was upheld.
3. The Mischief Rule:
- Gives the judges flexibility when deciding what mischief Parliament intended to stop.
It was created to achieve the aim of the law.
Smith vs Hughes (1960):
- The Mischief Rule was used to interpret Sectio 1 of the Street Offences Act 1959
which stated it is an offence for a prostitute to loiter in public places for the purpose of
prostitution. In this case, the Court of Appeal considered the appeals of 6 women,
where 1 woman was on the balcony and the other woman had been in the windows
of the room on the ground floor.
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