House of Lords upper chamber of British parliament / composition and role of the House of Lords/ functions of house of Lords
Introduction;-
The House of Lords is the second or upper chamber of the British Parliament. Historically it is the oldest legislative chamber of the world. Its membership is not fixed. Its members are not elected directly by the people, they are appointed by the King/Queen. It is a permanent house which is never dissolved. It is generally stated that the house of lords is a hereditary house.Composition;-
Members of House of Lord are as under.1) Princes of Royal Blood;-
Male adult members of royal family who have attained maturity and fulfilling are the requirement of the house are appointed as members of House of Lords. They by custom do not take part in the proceedings of the House. Generally their number is not more than two of three at a time.2)Hereditary Lords;-
Historically this category includes land lords and powerful person of the land. About nine-tenth of the total number of members belong to this category. Peerage is granted by the crown and he may create as many peers as he like.3) Scottish Peers;-
Scottish peers are 16 in number and they are elected by hereditary peers of Scotland for each parliament.4) Irish Peers;-
By the act 1800 for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland, the Irish peers were entitled to elect 28 peers for life to represent them in the House of Lords. Since the setting up of the Irish Free State in 1921 no new peers have been elected.5)Lord of Appeal;-
The House of Lords is the highest court of appeal for England. So it is necessary it should always contain a number of eminent judges and lawyers. There are nine law lords who are appointed for life and paid salaries. There duty is to assist the house in the performance of its judicial functions.6)Spiritual Peers;-
Tow Archbishops and Twenty-four senior bishops are the representative of the church. They retain or hold their seat in the House of Lords as long as they remain in Church services.7) Life Peers\;-
They are the persons who have held high offices in the state and have since retired e.g., ex-minister, ex-speakers, ex-politician, ex-scientist, ex-bishops, ex-judges and distinguished scholars.Numbers of Members;-
The numbers of members are not fixed. At present there are about 800 members who are called peers. Their number is added from time to time by new creations.Disqualification;-
Following persons cannot become the member of the House of Lord.a. Minor
b. Convict
c. Insane
d. Bankrupt
e. Woman
f. Present Member of House of Commons
Presiding Officer;-
The House of Lords is presided by a Lord Chancellor who is member of the cabinet.Privileges;-
Privileges available to House of Lords are as under.
- Access to the Crown;-
Every member of house of lords can access to the sovereign (Crown) to discuss public affairs.
- Freedom of Speech;-
The Lords can express their views freely and without any pressure.
- Right to Publish Opinion;-
The lords can publish their opinion in official papers.
- Freedom from Arrest;-
No member can be arrested when parliament is in session.
Exemption;-
It enjoys exemption from serving as jurors.
- Determination of Peerage;-
The House has the right to determine disputed claims to peerage.
- Right to Receive writs of Summons;-
They have the right to receive individual’s writs of summons to attend Parliament.
- Right to Record Protest;-
The members of the House of Lords have the right of recording a protest against any decision of the majority of house in the journals.
- Right to act as a Court;-
The peers have the right to act as a Court of Final Appeal.Powers and Functions;-
The House of Lords is both coordinate branch of parliament and literally a court of Law. It is ordinarily described as the highest court of appeal. Its powers and functions ca be explained under different categories. Details are given as under.1) Legislative Powers;-
The most important function of the British Parliament is to enact laws. An ordinary bill can be introduced in any of the two houses. Money bills can be introduced only in the house of commons. An ordinary bill passed by the House of Commons, it is sent to House of Lord and when passed by it, it goes for the Royal assent. If the House of Lords refuses to pass an ordinary bill and sends it back to the House of commons. House of commons passes it again and in between these two passing a period of one year lapses than the const of house of lords is not necessary. On the other hand if any ordinary bill is introduced in the house of lords and the house of commons refuses to pass it, the bill will die. To be brief in legislative spheres, the house of lords is only a delaying chamber.2)Financial Powers;-
In the financial filed the powers of House of Lords are less than house of commons. Money bills according to parliamentary act of 1911 can only be introduced in the House of commons. The house of lords whether passed it or not after passage of one month the bill will go for the royal assent. The House of Lord cannot reject it, they can only delay the passage of the money bill by a period of one month alone.3) Executive Powers;-
The lords have the power to ask question from the government and have a full right to debate its policies. It also enjoys a share in the cabinet membership. But they can only examine cabinet ministers they cannot pass any disapproval against them. The Prime Minister belongs to the House of Commons as the cabinet is collectively responsible to the house alone. We can say that house of lords control over the executive is insignificant.4) Judicial Powers;-
The house of lords is the final court of appeal in Britain and they lord chancellor also acts as a chief justice of the country. All peers have the right to hear appeals but in practice they are head by law lords. The whole house never meets as court of appeal.5)Other Powers;-
The house of lords performs an important unction of discussing such social and political question, which are not ready for legislation.Conclusion. The house of lords has no real power it just a delaying chamber. Before the passage of the parliament act of 1911. The house of lords was equal in powers with the house of commons but after the parliament act of 1911 the position is quite different. Now they are less in the power as compare to House of commons.
