Public Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Public Law - Essay Example Between the 19th and 21st centuries, various changes have taken place and have ended up reducing the powers and rights bestowed on the House of Commons for one reason or another. Their mandates and membership have in the past been disrupted, and rearranged to meet the changing needs of the government operations in the constitution, and for the benefit of the general society. So far, the trend in changes being campaigned for and implemented on the House of Lords seems to be very thorough, and with a driven motive, especially from the running government and House of commons, which could not only affect their powers, but injure the public affairs and general society, when the operations of the common house are left with minimal control. Roles of the House of Lords Legislative responsibilities: As a constituent body of the parliament, it plays a major role in the law making process. Actually, of all the roles the chamber is entitled to, law making that entails amending, revising, and eve n initiating legislatures remain a critical role, which the house spends most of its time in (Parliamentary Education Service, 2007). This is usually a shared responsibility with the House of Commons, allowing each house to bring in their opinion and contribute their ideologies in the development of the law. The end product of the proposed law after having been evaluated by both houses, stands a better chance of been effective once passed through for the crowns approval. This is because the potential problems and voids in the proposed law or bills would be exposed and catered for. Initially, the House of Lords exercised more powers in the legislature, but the passage of the Parliament Act of 1911limited its power, over the ordinary legislature (kkhsou.in, 2011). Like the House of Commons, it can also initiate bills, especially those concerned with the government operation and non money bills, though at a lower rate than the laws drafted from the other House. Similarly, it revises an d examines bills passed from the House of Commons, checking the proposals, making changes and improving bills through debates on amendments, which is not time limited, making them workable once approved. In its legislative function, the House of Lords power to veto a bill are not available, but they can reject it to cause delay, allow room for review by the Common House and government, or offer alternative amendments (The Great Britain Parliament et al, 2012). However, in the third time reject by the House of Lords, the Common House can push it ahead for the crowns approval, even without the consent of the House of Lords. Scrutinising government and its executives: It is a valuable role that helps keep the government executives and operations in the right track. Most of the government activities and decisions are challenged by the House of Lords, which probes into a wide range of policies and regulations. As an executive body, it has the powers to question ministers and elicit infor mation from the administration by submitting written questions, or asking them orally during the question time sessions in the House, raise issues of concern through debates about government activities and policies, and provide responses to the government statements (The Great Britain Parliament et al, s2012). The House has established committees that assist in scrutinising and monitoring the delegated powers to the executives and government. They