Importance of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 Assignment - 1

Importance of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 - Assignment Example The two acts are important legislations, in that they limited the powers and the privileges wielded by the House of Lords, and sought to give the common person more powers through the empowerment of the House of Commons. The legislations are however not without issues, as demonstrated in the Jackson v Attorney General [2005] case regarding the legality of the application of Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 to pass the Hunting Act, making it illegal to hunt wild animals using dogs, except in very limited circumstances. 6The case was heard by a Divisional court and later passed on the court of appeal. The court of appeal decision was that constitutional changes could not be passed under the parliament act of 1911. 2The legal issues raised in this case is that any legislation done under the parliament Act of 1911 was not primary, but a subordinate one. The legislative power wielded by the Act was not limited, and thus was open to statutory interpretation. Upon reaching the decision, the judges raised the issue that the Act did not authorize the House of Commons to change or remove any conditions on which the law-making power is based. 6 The judges observed that the 1911 Act was wide to authorize some amendments of the commons law making power, contrary to the 1949 Act, which was observed to be substantial and significant. 6The discussion by the judges was that it was highly unlikely that the House of Commons could contemplate to use the Act to enact a legislation that the House of Lords had not consented to or to abolish the House of Lords completely. 2 If however, the House of Commons had such intentions, then it would be seen as contrary to the intentions of the parliament, when it was enacting such legislations.