The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2(2) of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that the two Acts are to be construed as one.
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in others that is a separate step. Under a modern constitutional monarchy, royal assent is considered little more than a formality. Even in nations such as the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein and Monaco which still, in theory, permit their monarch to withhold assent to laws, the monarch almost never does so, except in a dire political emergency or on advice of government. While the power to veto by withholding royal assent was once exercised often by European monarchs, such an occurrence has been very rare since the eighteenth century.
A private member's bill is a bill introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in which a "private member" is any member of parliament (MP) who is not a member of the cabinet (executive). Other labels may be used for the concept in other parliamentary systems; for example, the label member's bill is used in the Scottish Parliament and the New Zealand Parliament, the term private senator's bill is used in the Australian Senate, and the term public bill is used in the Senate of Canada. In legislatures where the executive does not have the right of initiative, such as the United States Congress, the concept does not arise since bills are always introduced by legislators.
The New Zealand Parliament is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Sovereign (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his governor-general. Before 1951, there was an upper chamber, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The New Zealand Parliament was established in 1854 and is one of the oldest continuously functioning legislatures in the world. It has met in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, since 1865.
His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 is the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that recognised and ratified the abdication of King Edward VIII and passed succession to his brother King George VI. The act also excluded any possible future descendants of Edward from the line of succession. Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry his lover, Wallis Simpson, after facing opposition from the governments of the United Kingdom and the Dominions.
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It legalised homosexual acts in England and Wales, on the condition that they were consensual, in private and between two men who had attained the age of 21. The law was extended to Scotland by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 and to Northern Ireland by the Homosexual Offences Order 1982.
A Consolidated Fund Act is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed to allow, like an Appropriation Act, the Treasury to issue funds out of the Consolidated Fund.
The Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amends the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996. Its principal provision is to allow the Office of Rail Regulation to charge the operator of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link "a fee in respect of the exercise of any of the Office of Rail Regulation's functions in relation to the rail link".
The European Communities (Finance) Act 2001 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was given Royal Assent and became law on 4 December 2001, but was later repealed on 19 February 2008 by the European Communities (Finance) Act 2008.
In the UK and certain other Commonwealth countries, King's Consent is a parliamentary convention under which Crown consent is sought whenever a proposed parliamentary bill will affect the Crown's own prerogatives or interests. Prince's Consent is a similar doctrine, under which consent of the Prince of Wales must be obtained for matters relating to the Duchy of Cornwall. King's or Prince's Consent must be obtained early in the legislative process, generally before parliament may debate or vote on a bill. In modern times, following the tenets of constitutional monarchy, consent is granted or withheld as advised by government.
The Barbados Independence Act 1966 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted independence to Barbados with effect from 30 November 1966. The Act also provided for the granting of a new constitution to take effect upon independence, which was done by the Barbados Independence Order 1966.
The Borrowing Act 1946 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allowed HM Treasury to directly regulate borrowing within England and Wales and Scotland.
The Variation of Trusts Act 1958 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that governs the courts' ability to vary the terms of trust documents. Prior to the 1950s, the courts were willing to approve "compromise" agreements as to what terms meant, not only when they were disputed but also for the benefit of certain parties, such as minors. In 1954, the House of Lords decided in Chapman v Chapman that this would no longer be permitted, creating a gap between the rights of trusts under the Settled Land Act 1925 and those trusts that were not. As a result, following a report by the Law Reform Committee, Petre Crowder introduced the Variation of Trusts Bill to Parliament, where it was given royal assent on 23 July 1958, and came into force as the Variation of Trusts Act 1958.
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (FTPA) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which, for the first time, set in legislation a default fixed election date for general elections in the United Kingdom. It remained in force until 2022, when it was repealed. Since then, as before its passage, elections are required by law to be held at least once every five years, but can be called earlier if the prime minister advises the monarch to exercise the royal prerogative to do so. Prime ministers have often employed this mechanism to call an election before the end of their five-year term, sometimes fairly early in it. Critics have said this gives an unfair advantage to the incumbent prime minister, allowing them to call a general election at a time that suits them electorially. While it was in force, the FTPA removed this longstanding power of the prime minister.
The European Union Act 2011, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, requiring a referendum be held on amendments of the Treaty on European Union or the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The Trinidad and Tobago Independence Act 1962 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted independence to Trinidad and Tobago with effect from 31 August 1962.
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019, commonly referred to as the Cooper–Letwin Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made provisions for extensions to the period defined under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union related to the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. It was introduced to the House of Commons by Labour MP Yvette Cooper and Conservative MP Sir Oliver Letwin on 3 April 2019, in an unusual process where the Government of the United Kingdom did not have control over Commons business that day.
The Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, commonly known by its acronym EBRA, is an act of the Parliament of Canada that was passed by the 26th Canadian Parliament in 1964. The Act was introduced as Bill C-72 with the long title An Act to provide for the establishment of electoral boundaries commissions to report on the readjustment of the representation of the provinces in the House of Commons and to provide for the readjustment of such representation in accordance therewith.
The Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, introduced and commonly referred to as Bill C-48, is an act of the Parliament of Canada and was passed by the 42nd Canadian Parliament in 2019. The Act was introduced as Bill C-48 with the long title An Act respecting the regulation of vessels that transport crude oil or persistent oil to or from ports or marine installations located along British Columbia’s north coast.
The Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act, also referred to as Bill C-14, is an act of the Parliament of Canada that was passed by the 44th Canadian Parliament in 2022. It made a section 44 amendment to the Constitution of Canada to guarantee that the province of Quebec would not lose a seat in the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution. The Bill was introduced as Bill C-14 with the title An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 .
