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Citizenship at key stage 4 (Year 10-11)
Unit 04: How and why are laws made?
Section 2: How are laws made and changed?
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Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
- about different laws that affect young people at different ages
- how laws are made, and the difference between statute law and case law
- about the role of members of parliament and the Queen in making statute law, and the role of the courts in making case law
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Activities |
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Outcomes |
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Children: |
- Pupils (individually or in small groups) review different laws that affect different aspects of the lives of young people at different ages. For example:
- at 16 you can legally agree to sexual intercourse, buy beer with a meal (but not in a pub), buy cigarettes, hold a licence to drive a moped or motorcycle under 50cc, and get married with parents' or guardians' permission
- at 17 you can hold a licence to drive most vehicles, except heavy lorries and buses
- you cannot vote, bet, buy alcohol in a bar or public house, buy goods using a credit card or get a tattoo (the Tattooing of Minors Act 1969) until the age of 18
What is their view on the current laws? Why do we have these laws? Is the age appropriate? Do we think the age should be changed? Is it reasonable that young people cannot vote until they are 18 or stand for election as a councillor, MP or MEP until they are 21? Pupils discuss and share their views.
- Pupils undertake a more detailed enquiry, using one of the issues already raised in discussion or a piece of topical legislation that is in process or that has recently been made law (statute law), eg the proposed ban on fox hunting (the Wild Mammals (Hunting With Dogs) Bill), reducing the age of homosexual consent to 16 (the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000), anti-racist legislation (the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000). Pupils devise a set of questions to find out more about the bill or law, eg what are the key issues and points of conflict? Are specific individuals, groups of people or organisations affected? Was the bill introduced to parliament by the government or was it a private member's bill? Who was consulted before the bill was introduced? What stages does a bill go through before it becomes an Act of Parliament? What are the roles of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Queen in the process? What do the media say about the bill or law?
- Are laws made in other ways? Using a case study, pupils find out about the role of the courts in making and shaping the law (case law), eg the Gillick case in 1985-6, in which Mrs Gillick objected to the giving of contraceptive treatment or advice on the use of contraception to young people under the age of 16 without the consent of their parents.
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- discuss legal ages and give reasons why they agree or disagree with them
- describe how laws are made, using examples
- understand the different ways in which laws are created (statute law and case law)
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Points to note |
- This section builds on unit 5 'How the law protects animals - a local-to-global study' and unit 6 'Government, elections and voting' in the key stage 3 citizenship scheme of work.
- Government departments, the Houses of Parliament and Hansard have information on the legislative process. The Parliamentary Education Unit provides fact sheets on different aspects of the work of parliament, including Education Sheet 4 'Making the law'.
- This section is intended to help pupils understand some of what is involved in the process of creating law. It is helpful to prepare in advance sources of information on the bills or laws looked at in the enquiry, as it is sometimes difficult to obtain information quickly.
- The House of Commons Information Office can provide details of the stage that a bill has reached, who is sponsoring it, whether it has been lost and when it was made law or implemented.
- Books 1 and 2 of the Citizenship Foundation's Understanding Citizenship series give examples of case law.
- The Gillick case went to the House of Lords, where it was defeated, and the judges decided by a majority that a doctor can treat someone under 16 without the permission of parents or guardians as long as the doctor is satisfied that the patient understands the nature and consequences of the treatment. Other examples can be used, such as those that relate to current events or issues that continue to be topical, eg the Derek Bentley case and the death penalty in the UK, changing the legal age for driving a vehicle.
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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of
activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by
moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.
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