HOW ARE LAWS MADE?

INTRODUCTION

If you go to the library and ask for the laws of Singapore, the librarian will show you several volumes of binders in red entitled "Statutes of the Republic of Singapore". These statute books contain many laws, ranging from our Constitution, the Penal Code (criminal law), Women's Charter (matrimonial law) to the Young Persons and Offenders Act. Many of these laws help to regulate our everyday needs, such as prevention of crime, promotion of commercial enterprise and keeping a clean environment. Have you ever wondered who wrote all these laws and how they were made?

Most statutes or Acts of Parliament begin life as Bills which are drafted by legal officers in the Attorney-General's Chambers. Drafting a Bill is a very specialised skill. The draftsman must write the law as concisely as possible using simple and clear language. Try reading through any statute and you will see that drafting is not an easy job!

A Bill is broken down into many parts. Each part contains clauses which are identified by numbered paragraphs. Each paragraph deals with a certain aspect of the law. The various parts and clauses help to organise a Bill and make it easier to understand.

Once a Bill has been drafted and refined, it must go through a process before it can be made law. This process is known as the legislative process and we sometimes use the word "legislature" to describe Parliament.

ORIGIN OF BILLS

Bills originated from the Petitions of the early English Parliaments. When Parliament wanted the king to correct any injustice, they would send a petition to the king. If the king agreed to the petition he would send a reply. This reply had the force of law. As Parliament grew in power, it began drafting the laws themselves. These draft laws were called Bills. It presented them to the king for his assent. As more and more Bills were sent to the king, Parliament developed into a legislative body.

All Bills are read in Parliament. This dates back to the practice in the early English Parliaments where not all members could read and copies of Bills were not easily available. The Speaker or the Clerk would read the Bill before asking Parliament to agree to it.

VOTING ON BILLS

All decisions of Parliament including those pertaining to the passing of Bills, are taken by a vote. A vote can be taken in two ways. Firstly, there is the collection of voices, ie, the "ayes" and "noes", and secondly, by way of a division.

For most Bills and motions, unless it is one which requires the support of two-thirds of elected MPs such as a constitutional amendment, the Speaker would first ask all those in support to say "aye" followed by the "noes". How does the Speaker decide the vote? He listens carefully and determines whether the "ayes" or the "noes" have the louder support.

Sometimes, this can be less than accurate and any MP, supported by at least four others, can call for a division. In a division, bells are rung for three minutes to summon all MPs into the Chamber. After that, the Chamber doors are locked. Each MP's name is then called and his vote is recorded by the Clerk. The Clerk will then count the votes and report to the Speaker who, in turn, will declare the results.

In the present Chamber, divisions are done electronically. MPs will press the division buttons from their seats and the result will be displayed in the Chamber through the Digital Congress System.