WJEC/Eduqas A Level Law: Book 1 Revision Guide

Law reform • Examples : R v R (1991) (marital rape); R Steinfield and Keiden v Secretary of State for International Development (heterosexual civil partnerships) • Judicial law making is not very popular: it is undemocratic, unconstitutional, judges are not representative and they have a narrow view of the law • Influencing Parliament: the media • Issues of public concern can be highlighted in the media • Campaigns can be run through the tabloids to put pressure on the media • Examples : Sarah’s Law (disclosure of convicted sex offenders); Clare’s Law (disclosure of partners’ violent history) • Influencing Parliament: Private Members’ Bills • Enable to their constituents’ concerns • If the MP wins a ballot, they have 20 minutes to pitch their proposal in the House of Commons but rarely successful. • Examples : Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 ; Sexual Offences Act 2003 (New upskirting offence); Abortion Act 1965 • Influencing Parliament: ePetitions • Anyone can start a petition on the UK Parliament website • 10,000 signatures = response from House of Commons; 100,000 signatures = debated in the House of Commons • Statistics (May 2019): 349 = received a response; 59 = debated in House of Commons • Examples : reform to sentencing for knife crime; lower age for smear tests from 25 to 18; petition to revoke Article 50 to leave the EU received over 6,000,000 signatures • Pressure groups • Two types of pressure groups: Interest groups : represent the interests of their members. Membership is restricted to the people they represent. Examples : Law Society, British Medical Association, National Union of Teachers Cause groups : represent a common cause, based on the shared interests of their members. Examples : Greenpeace, Fathers4Justice, Age UK • They can influence Parliament by letter writing, lobbying MPs, organising petitions, gaining publicity and media attention • They can act as a consultative body by being consulted as part of the Green and White Paper process • Effective: Facilitate public discussion and educate people Specialist knowledge can inform governments Enhance democracy and encourage people to engage in politics • Ineffective: Only provide a one-sided view of an issue Undemocratic in the sense that they are unelected Can use illegal tactics to attract attention. Example : Occupy London • Law Commission • Set up under s3 Law Commission Act 1965 to ‘keep under review all the law’ • Process : Research – Consultation – Report – Draft Bill – Parliament 19