AN OUTLINE OF LAWMAKING PROCESS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND THE USA

Read the following texts.

Britain

New legislation in Britain usually starts in the House of Lords. In each house a bill is considered in three stages, called readings. The first reading is purely formal, to introduce the bill. The second reading is usually the occasion for debate. After the second reading the bill is examined in detail by a committee.

The bill is then returned to one of the houses for the report stage, when it can be amended. If passed after its third reading, it goes to the other house. Amendments made to a bill by the House of Lords must be considered by the Commons. If the House of Commons does not agree, the bill is altered and sent bask to the Lords. In the event of persistent disagreement between the two houses, Commons prevails.

Finally, the bill goes to the reigning monarch for the royal assent. Nowadays the royal assent is merely a formality. In theory the queen could still refuse her consent, but the last monarch to use this power was Queen Anne, who vetoed the unpopular Scottish Militia Bill in 1707.

United States

The US Congress, the lawmaking arm of the federal government, consists of two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Any congressman in either house, or the president, may initiate new legislation.

The proposed legislation, or bill, is first introduced in the House of Representatives, then referred to one of the standing committees, which organizes hearings on it and may approve, amend or shelve the draft. If the committee passes the bill, it is considered by the House of Representatives as a whole. If passed there, it goes to the Senate for a similar sequence of committee hearings and general debate.

In cases of disagreement, the House of Representatives and the Senate confer together. Once passed by the Senate as a whole, the bill has to be examined by two more standing committees - the Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration - and is then signed by the speaker of the House and by the president of the Senate.

Finally, it must be signed by the president, who has the right to veto it. If the president vetoes a bill, it can still become a law - but only if it is passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress.

1. Answer the questions.

1. In which House does new legislation usually start?

a) in Great Britain

b) in the USA

2. What is a bill? How does a bill become a law?

a) in Great Britain

b) in the USA

3. Who has the right of veto?

a) in Great Britain

b) in the USA

2. Match the following statements with a particular (British or American) law system.

1)Next week Mr. Richardson presents our case in the County Court.

2)Everybody is shocked: the Senate hasn’t approved the President’s decision to appoint Mr. John Brian Star the fifteenth federal district’s attorney.

3)This chamber is situated in 45 Oxford Street.

4)The Inns of Court are as respectable as exclusive clubs.

3. Work in groups. Find as many differences (similarities) in the lawmaking in Gr.Br. and the USA as possible.

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