Composition of the House Of Lords In Britain
The British Parliament has two houses – the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords is the upper and second house of the Parliament. It is a unique institution in the world.
The House of Lords is the largest gathering in the world in which most of the members sit in authority. Its member-numbers have increased a lot over the years. On 26 January 1985, it had approximately 1177 members. It is headed by Lord Chancellor who is a member of the cabinet. Its membership is of five types. It has all kinds of elected, nominated, hereditary members.
Herediatary Lords
(i) Royal Lords – First, the prince of the dynasty is its member who is the successor. Their number does not exceed half a dozen. They rarely come to any meeting, so in practice there is no importance of their being or not staying.
(ii) Other hereditary lords – They have the largest number of them also have three categories of lords. Some who were created before 1717 (when Scotland was merged into England) are some of the lords of Britain who were created before 1801 and some are lords of the United Kingdom who were created after 1801. The King can make new lords at will on the advice of the Prime Minister.
- Scotish Peers – The second category includes the feudatories of Scotland, numbering 16 who are elected by the feudatories of Scotland. The representative feudal of Scotland is elected for only 5 years. No new feudatories of Scotland have been created since Scotland was annexed in England in 1707. Therefore, this class will be finished after some time.
3. Irish Peers- Similarly the Lord’s representative from Ireland also sits in the Lord’s Assembly. Like Ireland, when Ireland was annexed into England, it was provided under the Union Act (1800) that Ireland would send 28 lords to the Lord’s Assembly. In 1800 there were about 234 Irish lords in Ireland, but since Ireland (1922) was separated, the situation has changed and now their number is decreasing. These ‘lifelong’ are elected members of the Lord Sabha.
4. Spiritual Lords- Some religious lords are also ex-officio members on the basis of religion in the House of Lords. Prominent among them were Archbishop of Canterbury and York, the bishops of London, Durham and Manchester. Apart from these, 21 other devotees continue to be members according to their preference.
5. Law Lords– The House of Lord also performs judicial responsibilities. For this it is absolutely necessary to have experts of laws in this assembly. With a view to ratifying the judicial body for this in the House of Lords, Queen Victoria had proposed to be a lifetime legal lord during her reign, but it was not accepted then. But in 1876, the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, gave the Crown the power to be a lifelong legal lord and thus 19 legal lords are members of the House of Lords.
Powers and Functions of the Lord’s Assembly
The Lord’s Assembly was once a powerful council with all rights. In particular, senior leaders of the House of Commons were also like followers of the Lords before coming to the reforms. Even such distinguished members as Edmund Burke used to be benevolent to the Lords. But as the franchise became widespread and the entry of new populist elements began to change which changed the tone of the House of Commons and there was a rift between the Lords and the Commons Councilors, which ended when the Lord’s House “Clipped the wings” after 1911 ) Were given. Prior to 1911, the Lord’s Assembly was equal in all matters except financial matters from the House of Commons and held the prerogative of justice. The Lord’s assembly also provided the leadership of the executive. But from 1911 onwards, the situation changed completely. Now he has the following powers:
Executive Power
The Cabinet is not responsible to the Lord’s Assembly, nor do some results come out of the win-win here, but the executive has to bear such a responsibility to answer the questions, participate in the dispute, clarify the policies of the minister and his bill Pass it to Some members of the Cabinet and the Cabinet are drawn from the Lord’s Assembly. Lord Common Assembly since Prime Minister Baldwin’s time
Has been coming, but other ministers could also be members of the Lord’s Assembly. It is often said that the minister belongs to the Lord Sabha; such as Lord Home; So his assistant is from the House of Commons; Because those who are not members of that House, those ministers cannot participate in the proceedings of that House. The Lord Chancellor is essentially a member of the Cabinet.
Administrative Power
In the field of law making, prior to 1911, the House of Lords had the same powers as the House of Commons. Any bill could have started from here and it could not have become law without the consent of this House, but the Act of 1911 has now provided that if the Lord House rejects a bill and thrice the Lok Sabha in the same way Passed by and 2 years have passed since the first time, then it will become law, whether or not the Lord Sabha agrees. Later this period has been reduced from three to two years and from two years to one year. Thus in the words of Ramje Mure “It has remained only a house to amend and delay and thus is also weak.”
According to Laski, there is now little ability to do mischief against a Labor government. Although in practice, the Lok Sabha takes note of the opposition of the Lord’s House and considers its suggestions and amendments.
Financial Power
In the financial sector, even this right is no longer there. Money bills will come in the commons assembly itself. The Speaker of the House will make the final decision as to which Bill is a money bill and who will become a law after one month, if the House accepts it or not.
Judicial Powers
- The Lord’s House reserves the right to hear impeachments imposed on those who have been accused of impeachment by the Commons House, but since the roots of ministerial responsibility deepened, it did not come to light.
- The House of Lords is the Supreme Court of Appeal for Britain and Northern Ireland, but when the House of Lords sits in this form, at that time only the Legal Lords can participate. Therefore, the tradition has delegated this power to the priests and lords of the law who, not like the councilor, sit as a judge.
Similarly, the House of Lords is considered the weakest house in the world.