Law, as the overt
expression of the general will of the society, is significant for the peace,
order and good governance of any society.
But laws must be
made first before they can be enforced, or their principles form the basis of interpretation.
Law-making is cumbersome and procedural.
Thus, law-making is
the most important function of the legislature since its success or failure is
measured by the numbers and types of bills it passed, motions it moved and
resolutions it adopted.
To be effective,
every legislative assembly should have established procedure for the orderly
conduct of its proceedings.
The procedures are usually
derived from the standing rules/Orders, and rulings by the presiding officer
and guided by the relevant constitutional provisions.
This article,
therefore, examines the law-making procedure usually followed by the parliament
or legislature of any country.
Table of Content
By the end of this
article, you will be able to:
1. Explain the major
stages of lawmaking in a parliament
2. Identify the
law-making process at the local government level
3. Differentiate the
law-making process between an elected parliament and a military government.
The Process of Law-Making in a Parliament
A bill normally
passes through many stages before it becomes an act or law. In most cases,
modifications are made in the original bill during its consideration by the
legislature before it becomes law.
The process involved
in law-making in a democratic system of government includes the stages stated
below:
First Reading
A printed copy of
the proposed bill is presented to the House through the clerk. The Clerk reads
the short-title of the bill to let lawmakers know it was received. This stage
involves the introduction of the bill with a title and no discussion on it.
The order of
business for the day will give the name of the Minister responsible for the
bill. Members are also given copies of the document to enable them to begin
private or party discussion on it.
The Rules and
Business Committee will then fix a convenient date for the second reading.
Usually, members are given sufficient time to fully study and digest the bill
before the appointed date when a detailed consideration of the bill is carried
out. It is important to stress that the first reading is a mere formality for
notification since no discussion of bill is done.
Second Reading
At this point, a full parliamentary debate on the content of the bill is allowed. The sponsor of the bill will introduce and explain the bill. He will then move a motion that the bill is read the second time.
This must be duly seconded. Members are then allowed to robustly debate the bill at plenary, that is the entire membership of a Legislative House. This is a critical stage when a bill may survive, be killed or amended.
After a thorough debate of the bill has been done, the presiding officer, either the President of the Senate in the Upper House or the Speaker of the House of Representatives will call for a vote on whether the bill should be read.
If it succeeds, that is if the majority of the members support the bill, it is then read for the second time and referred to a committee of the House responsible for the subject matter of the bill for further consideration.
The Rules Committee will then refer the bill to the Committee for further consideration.
Committee Stage
Committee stage is
the next after the second reading. There are two types of committees in most
parliaments i.e. a standing committee and a committee of the whole house. Bills
of technical or specialized nature are referred to the standing committee.
Usually, there are
committees constituted to handle technical subjects like aviation, education,
foreign affairs etc. and members are often assigned into committees where they
have specialties, which they can bring to bear on deliberations at the
committee stage.
There are other
situations when the committee of the whole house will sit to consider a bill of
special significance. To indicate that the house is at the committee of the
whole stage, the mace, which is the symbol of authority of the house, is
lowered or placed under the table.
At this stage,
members of the house are also free to speak more than once, since enforcement
of the standing rules, which guide deliberations at plenary are relaxed. It
should be noted that the bulk of work on a bill is done at this stage when it
is considered clause by clause.
The bill is given
special attention at this stage.
The job of the
Committee in the law-making process is to examine the bill in detail, hold a
public hearing, receive and consider memoranda from the public and propose
amendments, if and where necessary.
Report Stage
The Standing
Committee then report back to the House the outcome of its deliberations. The
bill, as amended at the committee stage, will be circulated to all members and
then thoroughly debated upon by the House.
If necessary, there
may be further modifications of the committee’s recommendation. A motion will
be raised for the adoption of the bill and thereafter it is ready for third
reading.
Third Reading
The third reading is
a formality because it is minor changes in the wording that is allowed, and the
substance (bill) cannot be amended again. Any amendment is usually of a formal
nature. After the third reading, a copy of the bill endorsed by the Speaker is
forwarded to the Second House.
If the bill is
passed without amendments, the originating house is accordingly informed, but
if amendments are proposed, the bill together with such amendments are sent
back to the First House.
Joint Session
A Joint Session of
the two houses will be convened to debate and reconcile the differences if any,
between the two legislative houses in a bicameral legislature such as the
United States of America or Nigeria.
The harmonized
version is then re-presented to the chambers for their respective adoption
before the bill is sent to the President in Nigeria and USA or the Queen in the
United Kingdom for assent.
Presidential Assent
or Veto
If both houses
accept the report, a clean copy, signed by the clerks of the two houses and
endorsed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of
the Senate, is submitted to the President for his assent.
In Nigeria, after
passing of the bill by both houses, the Assembly Clerk sends it to the
President for assent within 30 days. If the President withholds assent at the
expiration of the 30 days, the bill, on the support of a two-thirds majority of
the members of the two houses automatically becomes law.
In Britain, the
Queen of England does not have the power to deny assent to bills already passed
by the two houses of parliament.
Law-Making at the Local Government Level
In Nigeria, the
local government constitutes the third-tier level of government and usually
described as the closest to the grassroots. The local government performs
numerous functions and they are specified in the fourth schedule of the 1999
constitution, as amended. To discharge their functions effectively, the local
government councils are expected to make bye-laws.
There are three
types of draft bye-laws viz: Executive draft bye-law; Member draft bye-law and
Private bye-law.
Executive Draft
Bye-Law
This is a draft
bye-law proposed by the Chairman of the Local Government and forwarded the
Legislative arm for consideration and if passed becomes an executive bye-law.
Member Draft By-Law
Member Draft Bye-Law
is a draft bye-law initiated by member or group of Members of the Council as
legislative proposals of the Members.
Private Draft
Bye-Law
A Private Draft
bye-law is a draft bye-law other than the ones mentioned above. It could be
sponsored by pressure groups like the labour unions, teachers or private
individuals, but introduced in council by a member or group of members.
With the adoption of
the presidential system of government at that level, the law-making process at
the local government level in Nigeria is similar to what obtains at both the
federal and state levels, except minor differences and emphasis that are introduced
at the
local level to take
account of its specific needs and challenges.
First, after a draft bye-law has been introduced into a local government council, any member who wishes to introduce a substantive motion on it shall give notice of such motion by sending a copy of the provisions proposed to be embodied on the bye-law to the clerk in advance.
The clerk shall cause them to be published for at least
45 days calling for representations from the public.
A copy of the draft
bye-law shall be pasted on the Council’s Notice Board at the Local Government
Headquarters and at the Local Government Area Offices and District Offices.
Law-Making under a Military Rule
The presence of the
legislature is one of the major features that distinguish a democratic government
from other forms of governance (including the military rule).
The legislature in a
democratic society exists as an independent institution with its unique system,
life and process.
Unfortunately, this
is not so in a military regime where there is a centralized system of
administration based on the unified command structure of the military such as
the Supreme Military Council, the Armed Forces Ruling Council, and the
Provisional Ruling Council under General Gowon, General Babangida and General
Abacha in Nigeria respectively, which had unlimited powers to make laws, which
were called decrees at the federal level, and edicts at the state level.
In addition, the
military government usually suspends the constitution in part, or in whole,
ousts the jurisdiction of the courts to entertain certain cases and make laws
to have a retroactive effect or to abridge the fundamental human rights of the
citizens.
All these are
possible because military rule is an aberration.
In a democratic
society, the existence and active involvement of political parties, organs of
government and pressure groups allow for more diversified participation and
inputs into the law-making process.
The realization that
the day of reckoning will certainly come when elected representatives will be
required to render an account of their stewardship usually make government
officials take the opinion of their constituents and the larger public opinion
into account in deciding the type and quality of laws they make.
Read On: The Legislature: Origin, Types, Functions and Importance
Conclusion on the Law-Making Process
Law is useful to any
society because it is said to embody the societal reason and value as well as
its general ends or purpose. Law in any given society is the expression of the
push and pull of social forces in that society, and we cannot explain its
substance or its operation without regard to those forces.
The role of the
legislators is, no doubt, crucial in moulding the law and its essence, strictly
in accordance with the nation’s Constitution.
Our discussions in
this unit have focused on law-making which is the core function of the
legislature.
The post noted that
a bill normally passes through seven stages before it becomes an Act or Law.
These stages are crucial because failure to comply with them will render the
law a nullity, no matter its intrinsic merit. The procedure is common to all
the tiers of government in a democracy, contrary to military regimes, where the
whims of the ruler constitute the law.
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