From: "John Hurst.", [EMAIL PROTECTED] Telegrpah ISSUE 2063 Wednesday 17 January 2001 Hunting Bill 'risks constitutional clash' By Charles Clover, Environment Editor THE Government's attempt to push the Hunting Bill into law using the Parliament Act could lead to a confrontation between Parliament and the courts, says a former Master of the Rolls. Lord Donaldson of Lymington said yesterday that he and other senior legal experts believe that supporters of hunting would have grounds to fight the Government in the courts if it tried to use the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 to force a Bill into law against the will of the House of Lords. The Commons will vote today on the Bill in which MPs are expected overwhelmingly to back an option banning the sport, a decision expected to be reversed in the Lords. If the Government invoked the Parliament Acts, Lord Donaldson believes the decision would be open to challenge because legal authorities agree that the 1949 Act was never properly enacted, being only passed by the House of Commons. "I and my judicial colleagues have avoided this sort of situation for years. I don't want a collision between the courts and Parliament on this. But it is absolutely certain if the Hunting Bill went through on this principle (through use of the Parliament Act) that someone would object and go to the courts to challenge it." The 1949 Act was flawed as were all Acts forced into law because of it in recent years. He said: "This includes the War Crimes Act, the European Elections Act, the Sexual Offences Amendment Act and if the Government tries it, in due course the Hunting Bill." The Government most recently used the Parliament Act to lower the gay age of consent to 16, despite tough opposition from the Lords, led by the Conservative, Baroness Young. On Friday, Lord Donaldson will ask peers to back a Private Member's Bill, regularising the Parliament Acts in constitutional law, but curbing the power of the Commons to unilaterally alter the constitution and powers of the Lords. Professor Graham Zellick, vice chancellor of London university, a constitutional expert cited by Lord Donaldson in the notes to his Bill, agreed yesterday that there was a point of constitutional law to be cleared up on the powers of the Commons to override the Lords, arising from the 1949 Act. But he cast doubt on whether judges would opt to adhere to this point of law in practice, thus creating havoc for the Acts which had been passed using the Parliament Act since 1991 and causing a constitutional crisis. He said: "I think there are strong academic arguments for questioning the validity of the 1949 Act and therefore of legislation passed under it; arguments that would be thought cogent to a constitutional lawyer. But I do not think that those arguments are likely to be accepted in practice by the English courts. "It brings into question a number of Acts of Parliament. It would create havoc in the case in which it is challenged and it depends on nice constitutional theories which English judges on the whole don't care for." Lord Donaldson believes he might have considerable support for his Bill, but said that his attempts to discover the Government's view had failed. Lord Strathclyde, the Conservative leader in the Lords, said: "I shall be speaking on Friday and broadly supporting what Lord Donaldson is saying about making sure the Parliament Acts can't be used to bulldoze Bills through without proper debate." Lord Donaldson's Bill has little chance of becoming law. The Countryside Alliance said that a ban on hunting would be likely to lead to extra costs for the police to carry out surveillance of rural counties. The Association of Chief Police Officers said: "There are problems associated with whichever option is followed, should it become law. We will have to discuss with ministers and local authorities ways of making it work." Anti-hunting campaigners have sent MPs a letter from film, music, fashion and television celebrities including Chrissie Hynde, Ken Loach, Alexei Sayle, Jenny Seagrove and Gaby Roslin. 1 December 2000: Gay age of consent dropped to 16 after two-year battle 20 November 1998: What happens when the Lords and the Commons disagree Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________________________ T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
