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In England and Wales, law making takes place in Parliament.

Many processes take place in Parliament when passing and creating laws such as voting, consultation, and debates.

When Parliament passes a law, these laws are known as Acts of Parliament. It is estimated that 60-70 acts are passes by Parliament each year.

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Parliament is made up of three parts:

The House of Commons

-This is the lower house of parliament and is responsible for making and passing laws. The members of this house are known as Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected representatives. MPs are elected by the public at a general election to represent a constituency. The public elect 650 MPs to represent their interests and concerns in the House of Commons.

The House of Lords

-This is the upper house of parliament and plays a crucial role in examining law proposals (bills), questioning government action and investigating public policy. They will review legislation proposed by the House of Commons. There are currently 799 sitting members in the House of Lords who are appointed by the Prime Minister or the Monarch due to their expertise or societal contributions. The House of Lords also has several committees based on specific areas such as health and economy.

The Monarch

-The Monarch is the head of state in a monarchy. They act on the advice of the government and their role is to approve laws passed by parliament by granting royal assent which makes a bill become an Act of Parliament. A Monarch can refuse royal assent on the advice of their ministers, however this is unlikely as Parliament represents the will of the people. A Monarch hasn't refused royal assent since 1708.

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Before a proposal for a new law (a bill) goes through Parliament and the law making process, it must go through the pre-legislative process.

The first stage in this pre-legislative process is a Green Paper being issued by ministers. A Green Paper is a consultation document which is produced by the government. The aim of a Green Paper is to allow people both inside and outside of parliament to give the department feedback on it's policy/legislative proposals. The Green Paper may be sent to interested and similar parties. This helps the government understand different perspectives on issues.

Next, a White Paper is produced. This is a government policy document that outlines proposals for future legislation. The White Paper may include a draft of the bill that is being planned.

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It is possible for judges to make law as well as Parliament and the government. This can be done through:

Judicial precedent

-This is a law that has been created on past judges decisions for future judges to follow. It is the role of the judge to make a judgement on a case. This then forms the law and must be followed by judges who work on similar cases in the future.

The judicial precedent is based on 'Stare Decisis' which means 'To stand by things decided'. This is a legal principle that requires courts to follow previous judicial decisions when resolving cases with similar facts.

Following the judicial precedent has aided in creating common laws throughout the country. By treating cases that are similar in the same way, this helps bring consistency an fairness to the legal system.

An example of judicial precedent is the Donoghue v Stevenson case in 1932. Mrs. Donoghue fell ill after a decomposed snail fell out of her bottle of root beer. Because of this, she decided to sue the manufacturer Mr. Stevenson for negligence (failure to provide a duty of care). Before this case occurred, manufacturers only owed a duty of care to people who they had direct contractual relationships with. However, this case formed a new precedent, that manufacturers owe a duty of care to all consumers even without direct contracts. This case shows how courts can establish and adapt legal principles to address new cases; this in turn forms a precedent that all courts should apply and follow when dealing with similar cases.

There are two situations where a court will not have to follow precedent:

Distinguishing- This is the process of a court deciding that the legal reasoning of a precedent case is not applicable to a current case because of material differences between the two cases.

Overruling- This is when a higher court decides that a previous decision made by a lower court is incorrect and therefore nullifies the decision/overturns it. When a higher court overturns a lower court, this sets a new precedent that must be followed in future cases.

An example of overruling occurring is the case of R v R (1991). This was a judgement made by the House of Lords where they unanimously overturned the common law of marital rape - that a husband could not be convicted of raping his wife as the wife has given consent to sexual intercourse through the contract of marriage which she could not withdraw. The House of Lords decided that the common law was outdated and no longer tolerated in modern society. This shows how overruling can help keep laws up to date with societies views.

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Statutory interpretation

-It is the role of the judge to apply the law to real cases and carry out the intention of Parliament when interpreting legislation.

There may be occasions where the wording and meaning of an Act is not easy to understand. For example, there may be words that have multiple meanings, therefore the wording of the act is unclear and difficult to understand.

To reduce ambiguity, there are rules in place to aid courts in interpreting Acts.

There are three main rules for interpretation:

The literal rule - This is the primary rule where courts interpret the law in a literal sense. This reduces the chance of judges biases impacting their interpretation of the law.

The golden rule - This is the principle of treating others how you want to be treated. Judges would use this rule to avoid the outcome of a case being unjust.

The mischief rule - This helps judges determine and address mischief effectively. Judges would consider the purpose and intention of the law rather than its literal wording.

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A bill can begin in any house, unless it is a finance bill. In this case, it must start in the House of Commons.

If the bill starts in the House of Commons, the first stage is the first reading of the bill. During the First Reading, the House is addressed of the aims of the bill and a formal vote is taken either in favour or against the bill. The purpose of the First Reading is to let members know that a new bill is awaiting discussion.

The next stage is the Second Reading. This is more important than the First Reading as this is where the main debate takes place. The purpose of the bill is explained and discussions occur. The MPs will then vote to see if the bill will go onto the next stage.

After the Second Reading, the Committee stage takes place. During the Committee stage, a chosen group of representatives will look closely at the bill. After they have examined the bill, they will address any possible issues within the bill and from this suggest any amendments that may be appropriate.

Following the Committee stage is the Report stage. This is when the Committee that looked at the bill during the Committee stage will report back to the House of Commons with the issues they found and suggested amendments. The House will then vote on any amendments proposed.

The next stage is the Third Reading of the bill. This is the final vote on the bill and if the bill passes the vote on this stage, it will go onto the House of Lords where the above stages are repeated and the bill is thoroughly examined. If the House of Lords thinks the bill needs amending in any way, then they will send it back to the House of Commons. The House of Commons will look and approve of any changes the House of Lords have made to the bill.

If the bill passes all the stages in the House of Commons and House of Lords, then it will go to the Monarch to obtain Royal assent. The Monarch will sign the bill and therefore the bill becomes an Act of Parliament. The commencement date of the Act will also be given which is the official starting date when the Act will be put into place.

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There are a number of different agencies that make up the criminal justice system in England and Wales:

Law creation and administration - Parliament pass criminal laws and it is the role of government departments to run the justice system.

Law enforcement - It is the role of the police to enforce the law within the community to maintain safety and fairness.

The courts - Courts have the role of deciding the outcome of criminal cases. The prosecution and the defence are also included in this.

Punishment of convicted offenders - Prisons have the role of carrying out custodial sentences given by the court and probation services can supervise those given community sentences.

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Their role:

The police have the role of enforcing the law within society and investigating crime. They arrest, detain, and question suspects and obtain evidence for criminal cases. They can provide evidence in court as a witness and can issue cautions or fixed penalty notices.

Their relationships:

Courts - The police will arrest a suspect and the courts will then interpret the law and impose a sentence on the defendant. The police can hold defendants in police cells and transport them to and from court. The police can also provide protection for vulnerable witnesses and give evidence in court as a prosecution witness.

CPS - The police will provide evidence for the prosecution of offenders and will charge offenders in line with instructions given from the CPS.

HM Prison and Probation services - The police can arrest prisoners who have been recalled to prison for breaching terms of their license . The police and prison and probation services will also co-operate with each other to manage the list of child sex offenders as a result of Sarah's law.

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Their role:

The CPS will assess evidence and run it through tests to ensure it is reliable and credible. This will then aid them in deciding whether a case is worthy to go to court. They will give advice to the police on their investigation and what evidence is required for the case to be successful. They will prepare the prosecutions case in court and decide on the appropriate charges for the suspect.

Their relationships:

Police - The CPS will instruct the police on charging suspects and give them advice throughout the investigation. The CPS will tell the police what evidence is suitable to build the case. It is the role of the CPS to assess the evidence collected by the police and ensure its reliable.

Courts - The CPS will prepare and present the prosecution case against the defendant and prepare appeals against unduly lenient sentences.

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Their role:

The courts will apply the law to criminal cases and give the appropriate sentence to defendants. The Magistrates' courts deal with minor, summary offences and the Crown and Supreme courts will deal with more serious, indictable offences.

Their relationships:

Prison: Prisons will hold any prisoners attending court and remand offenders. The courts will arrange video recordings and live links for prisoners giving evidence from prison

Probation: Probation services will supervise offenders that have been given community sentences by the court

Police: When the police arrest a suspect and collect evidence, the courts will interpret the law and impose an appropriate sentence on the defendant after assessing the evidence given

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Their role:

Probation services will supervise offenders who are serving their sentences in the community, including prisoners who have been released on license to serve part of their sentence outside of prison.

Their relationships:

Police - The police will arrest prisoners recalled to prison for breaching the terms of their license

Prison - Probation services will supervise prisoners who are released on license. Prisons will prepare offenders for pre-release and run offending behaviour programmes

Courts - Probation services will supervise offenders given community sentences by the court and supervise drug testing under the courts orders. Probation services will also prepare pre-sentencing reports on offenders.

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Their role:

The role of prisons is to supervise offenders in custody with the aim of rehabilitation and reformation of prisoners. Prisons may offer support for offenders such as educational programmes and therapy to aid them in reforming.

Their relationships:

Courts - The prisons carry out custodial sentences that the court has imposed on offenders. They will also supervise defendants who have been remanded into custody (refused bail) by the court and facilitate visits from defence lawyers to their clients in prison

Police - The prisons and police work together to protect the local community from crime. Prison can facilitate interviews with prisoners who are involved in ongoing police investigations

Probation: The police and probation services liaise with each other to discuss when a prisoner is to be released from prison on license