Bill

B.'s history is connected with the development of parliament, and mainly the House of Commons . Before the accession of the Lancaster House, the House of Commons was lower in comparison with the House of Lords and its influence on public administration was very insignificant. Initially, both cities and small landowners (country gentry) looked at the right of representation as a heavy duty, often bought letters dismissing deputies from sending, and sometimes took liens from the latter to secure the appearance. On the other hand, the communities agreed in advance that the king would be pleased to be ordered in consultation with the great and wise persons of his council . This state of affairs could not diminish the importance of the lower house and gave the kings the opportunity to often violate people's rights. So, Edward III times even appointed deputies himself, and in 1347 all taxes were voted by lords alone.

With the accession to the throne of Lancaster, the importance of the lower house increases, it receives the right to legislative initiative. The early communities expressed their desire for legislative reform in special petitions (petitions), the affirmation, change, or complete elimination of which was entirely dependent on the king. Usually, if the king intended to refuse such a petition, he answered with the formula: “le Roy s'aviser,” that is, that he would consult with his advice. Already since the times of Edward III, communities have begun to understand this formula of polite refusal in its literal sense and repeat their requirements if they were not fulfilled after a certain period of time, however, throughout this reign all statements of the communities are still petitions, and the requesting form of their revision is preserved even after they have been enforced by the queens a statement expressed by the formula: “le Roy le veult” (the king wishes it).

From the second year of the reign of Henry IV, communities began to complain that the king, approving legislative drafts submitted to him in the form of a petition, often changed their content, which provoked the publication of a decree in 1415 , according to which no law could continue to be issued without the community’s consent to the recent petitions submitted could not be increased or reduced, but only it was necessary to accept them completely or completely reject them. Since then, the applications submitted by the communities have turned to billions, that is, the bills proposed by the communities for approval by the government, and the division of legislative acts into two categories has been established, namely statutes - laws stipulated by the consent of the parliament and Rita ( writ - deed, decree) - orders depending on the king’s sole discretion, also called in the olden days as assises or constitutions. The publication and cancellation of the latter was provided to the king in those cases when it was not a matter of establishing or repealing a new legislative principle, but only of the proper application or enforcement of the existing law; within these limits, his will received legislative force even before it was brought into the house, but these orders depended on the legislative power of the parliament, which could paralyze their power by issuing a new law, to repeal the clarification of the royal decree, and therefore had only a temporary character. In this way, a clear distinction was established between the legislative and executive branches of government, with the first parliament being granted and the second king. This beginning was so deeply rooted in the public life of England that the subsequent era of the development of absolutism , which made parliament an obedient instrument of royal aspirations, could not shake it, and all political and religious unrest and coups that ended with the 1688 revolution only contributed to its final triumph .

Over the course of the eighteenth century, the importance of the English parliament increased more and more, with the main leading role shifting to the lower house. At the same time, the legislative activity of parliament is being strengthened, as evidenced by the increasing number of statutes dated by it. So, in the reign of William III and Mary II (1688–1702) 783 statutes were voted; in the reign of Anna (1702-1714) - 949; George (1714-1727) - 758; George II (1727-1760) - 2791; George III (1760-1820) - 14800; George IV (18201830) - 3223; William IV (1830-1837) - 1862.

Billy come in two kinds: private (private V.) or public (public V.). The former are legislative acts related to the legal life of individuals or institutions and issued at their request, which is submitted to one or another chamber by one of its members. The first such private B. is considered the parliamentary act 1266, which, under the threat of spiritual and secular punishment, was forbidden to venerate the saint or the righteous Count Lei of Chester, who died in excommunication. In the old days, such B.'s were originally considered a chamber in full force, and all its members could speak for or against this B. then the chamber began to appoint commissions for this purpose, the composition of which changed frequently. In the XVII century private B. were discussed in "open committees: that is, those in which all members of both the lower and upper houses could participate at their discretion. In 1839 this open committee was replaced by an elected committee, and in 1855 access to it was closed to all who were interested in holding this bill and finally the number of its members was limited to four, and the chairman’s vote would be given an advantage if the votes were divided equally. The large number of these private B. (in the current century about 20,000 were cast by the parliament) forced the parliament to refuse to deny discussion of their known categories, giving administrative authorities the right to issue, in certain cases, their orders on these subjects, of which some were to be approved by parliament, others received binding force if they were not canceled within a certain time period. types of private B.: local and personal. All private B. presented to the parliament are usually distributed equally between both houses, and however, those who have from Ocean to the layout and collection of taxes, to the House of the Lords - all B. concerning the recovery of honor. Public bills are those that have in mind the social needs of a whole nation and relate to issues of general law and public administration. An initiative like B. belongs to both chambers and each of their members. The king, who has the right to issue decrees on subjects related to the executive power granted to him, must contact the parliament whenever he intends to change the written law or custom, establish the punishability of any criminal act or impose any obligation on citizens. The representative of the supreme authority exercises this right of legislative initiative by indicating in a throne speech delivered or read at the opening of each parliamentary session those bills that are supposed to be discussed by the parliament, or by communicating these bills in special messages addressed to one or another during the session , or both houses together. Ministers, as members of the lower house, also have the right to present their projects, even if the latter were not outlined in a throne speech. In practice, individual members of one chamber or another rarely rarely directly use the right of initiative, since if the ministry approves their assumption, then the best way to carry it out is to give the corresponding bill to the ministry, if the latter does not approve of it, then achieving the goal is only possible case when the chamber is ready to overthrow the ministry. If B. proposed by one of the members of the chamber is not disputed by the ministry. but it is not supported by him, it is discussed by the chamber on Wednesdays, and on these days the meeting must be closed at six o’clock and the bills to be discussed are pre-assigned to each of them, why the bill that is not dated on the day of discussion is postponed until the next day, that is, on entities until the next session. Each of the chambers raises legislative questions, either deciding that B. related to any subject should be submitted for discussion, or adopting a resolution voted by it and determining that it should be given legal force, or authorizing the committee chairman to introduce B., whose presentation was entrusted to him by the committee. Most often, however, the preparation of the bill is preceded by a special study, initiated either by the government appointing a royal commission for this, then by one of the chambers, or both together, together electing a mixed commission for this purpose. Peers who are not members of the House of Lords may attend such meetings, but without the right to vote, just like members of the House of Commons, at meetings of the commissions it appoints. The admission of unauthorized persons when listening to the testimony of witnesses depends on the discretion of the commission, but its meetings must necessarily take place behind closed doors. The commission has the right to interrogate as witnesses the members of another chamber only with the permission of the latter. After a sufficient study of the subject to be discussed, the chairman of the commission prepares his report and a series of proposed resolutions that are distributed to all members. The latter discuss and vote at first each of them individually, and then their entirety, after which the task of the commission is considered completed and it is abolished by itself. Every bill may be presented to one or another house, although B. concerning taxes certainly comes to the lower house, bills related to privileges or the procedure for the production of one or another house are considered initially by the one that is interested in it. As for the procedure for discussing and voting the bill, it should be noted that this production is generally the same in both houses. It consists in the following: one of the members of the House of Commons informs the latter that he intends on a certain day to apply to her with a request for permission to bring him B.; this motion (Motion) is stated orally, and if it is respected, B. is brought to the chamber, which, having ordered it to be printed, appoints the day of the first reading , after which the fundamental question of accepting B. or eliminating it intact, is discussed and voted into consideration of its individual parts and provisions, and, if adopted in general terms, the day of the second reading is appointed. On this day, certain parts and details of the bill are discussed, which is previously entrusted to a special commission, and then, in more important cases, also to the “committee” (comitee), which turns the chamber into its full composition, presides instead of the speaker taking part in the debate and special voting, legally educated person (chairmen). The bill considered by the committee with all the changes and additions made to it (amendements) is again submitted to the discussion of the chamber. If the latter finds it necessary to make significant changes or additions to B. edited by the committee, then he is returned to the committee; if she agrees with its editorial board or introduces only minor changes or additions, she orders the rewriting of the bill in large print on parchment (engrossed) and sets the third reading day, after which, if B. is accepted by the majority of the House, he is introduced by the clerk to the House of Lords. Voted additions after the third reading are rewritten on a separate sheet of parchment (rider), which is attached to the first. The House of Lords immediately hears it in the first reading, but does not discuss it until one of the lords in one of the twelve next sessions proposes a second reading. If this does not follow at the indicated time, then B. is eliminated. After the second reading, the house orders B. to be considered in the committee of lords, and then he returns to the house and is voted after the third reading. If any changes are introduced into the bill text adopted by the House of Commons by the upper house, then those changes are communicated by the latter and are voted by it individually. If the changes are accepted, B. will be returned to the House of Lords; otherwise, a commission will be appointed whose responsibility is to find out the reasons for refusing to accept all or some of the changes. If after this the upper house, having discussed the representation of the lower house, refuses its changes, B. goes to the king’s approval, in the event of a disagreement between the chambers, he is considered to have been dropped. The royal statement, which gives B. legal force, is communicated in person or in writing with the application of the royal seal. The written form was approved for the first time applied by Henry VIII to B. condemning Queen Catherine. Verbal approval is given by the king in a meeting of the upper house, where members of the House of Commons are invited, in which B. is read, approved by a royal decision expressed by ancient Norman and French formulas, different, depending on the content of B., so public B. is approved by the words: “Le roye (la reine) ie veult ”(the king or queen desires this), private B. -“ Soit fait comme il est desire ”(let it be done as they wish), B. establishing any taxes and duties (Money B .) - “Le roye (la reine) remercie ses loyals snjets, accepte leur benevolence et ainsi le venit” (king or the queen thanks her faithful subjects, accepts their voluntary offering and desires it). The polite refusal of approval remained, as before, “le roye s'aYisera”. Queen Elizabeth especially enjoyed the right to not approve B., who once eliminated 48 B. in one session, later (1792) he was exercised by William III in relation to B. about the three-year term of parliament, which, however, was approved by him in 1794. In most cases, the government seeks to achieve its goals by securing a majority of votes in both houses and usually eliminates B.'s disapproval of it, having achieved an unfavorable vote for the upper house. For those introduced by B.'s ministers on critical issues, the highest statement is usually requested in advance. Individual B. are usually named for the subject that makes up their content. Some of them have become particularly famous in history, due to the important role they played in the religious and political life of the people. Among the latter, by the way, belong: B. six articles, B. thirty-nine articles, B. rights and B. reforms.

• Bill

• Bill // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.