Redress of grievance
Jun. 3rd, 2004 03:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ravenHaving revised the Parliamentary Commissioner for Adminstration for an hour, I am yet to find out if the PCA is a person, a department or a person with a department.
More politics revision; or, what happens when Arthur Weasley decides his human rights have been infringed by the Ministry when they refuse to let him have a flying car.
We all know the story. There’s a loophole in the law which states that as long as one is not intending to fly one’s flying car, the fact one’s car can fly is not punishable by the state. Therefore, when the Ministry confiscate his flying Ford Anglia, Arthur is somewhat annoyed.
He is, in fact, a citizen in search of Redress Of Grievance.
Now, ordinarily, his first step would be a visit to his MP’s local surgery. The MP would then have to listen to him, nod and make soothing noises, then address a letter to a relevant government department. The departments take letters from MPs seriously, and the minister would reply and possibly do something about it. Failing that, the MP could refer the case to the relevant parliamentary Select Committee, address oral questions at the minister’s Question Time, or make flying cars the subject of an adjournment debate.
If nothing else worked, the MP would then pay a visit to the Ombudsman, otherwise known as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. If the initial approach to the department is unsuccessful, the PCA can then set up an enquiry, calling witnesses and relevant documents, and produce a report. However, the department is under no obligation to follow the report’s recommendations, and ministers are within their rights to withhold documents from the PCA. Which is something of a limiting factor on exactly how effective the PCA actually is, and it’s been called a waste of public money
However, yesterday I decided that Arthur Weasley doesn’t have an MP, because of the peculiarities of the wizarding political system, and thus all the above options are denied him. He can’t visit the PCA himself, quite possibly because he’s never heard of it, and also because ordinary citizens cannot petition the Ombudsman; only MPs can. And in addition to that, the Ombudsman can only act upon referral, not on his own initiative, which again limits how useful its existence actually is.
So, Arthur is left with a few other options. There’s always legal protest – Britain’s constitution is unwritten, but we are granted freedom of assembly – so he could set up camp at Speaker’s Corner and shout a lot. In conjunction to that, he could set up a pressure group (Society of the Liberation of Flying Cars?), and use it to apply pressure on the relevant parts of government and force it to change its policy, and he could also engage in civil disobedience (possibly flying his car wantonly without regard for the law, and/or not paying his council tax).
If none of that works, he can go to the courts and claim his rights are being infringed. Specifically, he can go before the Wizengamot and state his case, with Legal Aid if he needs it (and he probably does), and see what happens there. If the judge rules in his favour, he’s okay to go home with the car. If the judge doesn’t rule in his favour, he’s rapidly running out of options.
In fact, all he can do now is go to Europe. Britain’s status as a member state has involved transferring some of its sovereignty over to the institutions of the European Union, notably the European Commission (depending on whether flying Ford Anglias are covered by the commissioner for transport), which is controversial because of the way the European Commission is part of the EU’s democratic deficit. Its position as the driving force of the EU is problematic because its being unelected as opposed to the European Parliament, which is not an executive or legislative body, merely able to scrutinise the work of the Commission.
Having said all that, Arthur Weasley can now go before either the Court of Justice or the European Court of Human Rights, depending on whether or not ownership of a flying car is a basic human right. If they rule in his favour, the English judge (Wizengamot or not) has his/her ruling overturned, because of the whole concept of transferred sovereignty. The British government at Westminster has a duty to carry out the rulings of the European courts.
And Arthur goes home in his flying car.
More politics revision; or, what happens when Arthur Weasley decides his human rights have been infringed by the Ministry when they refuse to let him have a flying car.
We all know the story. There’s a loophole in the law which states that as long as one is not intending to fly one’s flying car, the fact one’s car can fly is not punishable by the state. Therefore, when the Ministry confiscate his flying Ford Anglia, Arthur is somewhat annoyed.
He is, in fact, a citizen in search of Redress Of Grievance.
Now, ordinarily, his first step would be a visit to his MP’s local surgery. The MP would then have to listen to him, nod and make soothing noises, then address a letter to a relevant government department. The departments take letters from MPs seriously, and the minister would reply and possibly do something about it. Failing that, the MP could refer the case to the relevant parliamentary Select Committee, address oral questions at the minister’s Question Time, or make flying cars the subject of an adjournment debate.
If nothing else worked, the MP would then pay a visit to the Ombudsman, otherwise known as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. If the initial approach to the department is unsuccessful, the PCA can then set up an enquiry, calling witnesses and relevant documents, and produce a report. However, the department is under no obligation to follow the report’s recommendations, and ministers are within their rights to withhold documents from the PCA. Which is something of a limiting factor on exactly how effective the PCA actually is, and it’s been called a waste of public money
However, yesterday I decided that Arthur Weasley doesn’t have an MP, because of the peculiarities of the wizarding political system, and thus all the above options are denied him. He can’t visit the PCA himself, quite possibly because he’s never heard of it, and also because ordinary citizens cannot petition the Ombudsman; only MPs can. And in addition to that, the Ombudsman can only act upon referral, not on his own initiative, which again limits how useful its existence actually is.
So, Arthur is left with a few other options. There’s always legal protest – Britain’s constitution is unwritten, but we are granted freedom of assembly – so he could set up camp at Speaker’s Corner and shout a lot. In conjunction to that, he could set up a pressure group (Society of the Liberation of Flying Cars?), and use it to apply pressure on the relevant parts of government and force it to change its policy, and he could also engage in civil disobedience (possibly flying his car wantonly without regard for the law, and/or not paying his council tax).
If none of that works, he can go to the courts and claim his rights are being infringed. Specifically, he can go before the Wizengamot and state his case, with Legal Aid if he needs it (and he probably does), and see what happens there. If the judge rules in his favour, he’s okay to go home with the car. If the judge doesn’t rule in his favour, he’s rapidly running out of options.
In fact, all he can do now is go to Europe. Britain’s status as a member state has involved transferring some of its sovereignty over to the institutions of the European Union, notably the European Commission (depending on whether flying Ford Anglias are covered by the commissioner for transport), which is controversial because of the way the European Commission is part of the EU’s democratic deficit. Its position as the driving force of the EU is problematic because its being unelected as opposed to the European Parliament, which is not an executive or legislative body, merely able to scrutinise the work of the Commission.
Having said all that, Arthur Weasley can now go before either the Court of Justice or the European Court of Human Rights, depending on whether or not ownership of a flying car is a basic human right. If they rule in his favour, the English judge (Wizengamot or not) has his/her ruling overturned, because of the whole concept of transferred sovereignty. The British government at Westminster has a duty to carry out the rulings of the European courts.
And Arthur goes home in his flying car.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2004-06-03 10:22 am (UTC)Because everyone should have a flying car!
-Meredith
no subject
on 2004-06-03 10:26 am (UTC)The things I do to avoid revision. *sighs*
no subject
on 2004-06-03 10:44 am (UTC)no subject
on 2004-06-03 10:50 am (UTC)no subject
on 2004-06-03 12:18 pm (UTC)This covers a fair few things I was shakey on. (We've not finished module 3, dammit! How do I learn!) I am now going to print this off and continue to cackle like a maniac at your genius.
no subject
on 2004-06-03 01:06 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2004-06-03 01:08 pm (UTC)You do not need 100%. Just remember that. Look at some past papers; can you do at least one of the 22 mark questions in each sections?
In other news, I hate Europe like the plague and am merrily looking forward to my resit in January. Oh, for the good old days of voting behaviour!