Enactment, Implementation and Repeal of Legislation

Introduction

This chapter sits within **Unit 2 (Legitimacy, Separation of Powers and the Rule of Law)** and examines how legislation is **enacted, implemented and repealed** in the United Kingdom. It opens with the **powers and procedures for legislation**, anchored in the **doctrine of parliamentary supremacy (sovereignty)**, before tracing the legislative process from **Green Paper** and **White Paper** through to **Bill** and **Royal Assent**. It then turns to **public order law** under the **Public Order Act 1986** (as amended by the **Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022**), covering **processions**, **assemblies** and the **common law power to deal with a breach of the peace**. The chapter closes with the **devolved powers of Senedd Cymru and the Welsh Ministers** under the **Government of Wales Act 2006**.

Assessment focus

For SQE1 FLK1, you must understand **how primary and secondary legislation is enacted, implemented and repealed**, both at Westminster and (for Wales) by **Senedd Cymru and the Welsh Ministers**. You should be able to state the **doctrine of parliamentary supremacy** and its consequences — in particular that **no later Parliament can be bound** and that **UK courts cannot declare an Act of Parliament invalid**. You must also command the **public order regime** under the **Public Order Act 1986**: the **advance-notice** requirement for processions (**s. 11**), the power to **impose conditions** on processions (**s. 12**) and assemblies (**s. 14**), the power to **prohibit** processions (**s. 13**) and trespassory assemblies (**s. 14A**), and the **common law concept of breach of the peace** (**R v Howell (1981)**). Questions are **single best answer** and set in **client scenarios**; you must **apply** the relevant section or principle, not merely recite it.

Study tips

1) Fix the **core rule of supremacy**: Parliament may make or unmake **any** law, **no Parliament can bind its successors**, and **no court can strike down a statute**. 2) Distinguish the **legal** position (Parliament can pass any law) from the **practical / political** limits (enforceability, public opinion). 3) Learn the **legislative sequence**: Green Paper → White Paper → Bill → passed by both Houses + Royal Assent → Act (and remember the Green/White Paper stage is **not compulsory** and may be skipped in an emergency). 4) Memorise the **Public Order Act 1986 section map**: **s. 11** notice (procession), **s. 12** conditions (procession), **s. 13** prohibition (procession), **s. 14** conditions (assembly), **s. 14A** prohibition of trespassory assemblies (offences in **s. 14B**). 5) Note the key **procession v assembly contrast**: notice is required only for **processions**; conditions on **assemblies** are limited to **place, duration and maximum numbers**. 6) For **breach of the peace**, remember it is **not a criminal offence** but a person may be **bound over to keep the peace**.