KSLU Solved Question Papers
Political Science (Major World Governments)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 3
2016 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 3 Political Science (Major World Governments) 2016 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2016 Jun examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2016 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2016 Jun examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Explain the composition, powers and functions of the Parliament of U.K. (England)[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: Parliament as the King, the House of Lords and the House of Commons; composition: the King's part (assent, summoning, prorogation, dissolution under the 2022 Act), the Commons (650 seats by nation after the 2023 review, first past the post, who may stand, term, the 2024 result, the Speaker), the Lords (life peers, bishops, the end of hereditary seats in 2026, appointment and departure, the Lord Speaker), a table comparing the Houses; powers: legal sovereignty (Dicey), shown in three cases (British Railways Board v. Pickin, Factortame, Jackson), and the division between the Houses; functions: representation, legislation, scrutiny, finance, legitimation, recruitment of ministers, deliberation; an assessment; a conclusion.
Introduction
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is made up of three parts: the King, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Together they are called the "King in Parliament", and only together can they make an Act of Parliament. Parliament sits at the Palace of Westminster. It is the supreme law-making body of the country, and it is also the body to which the Government answers.
Part A. Composition
1. The King. The King is a part of Parliament but takes no part in debate. A bill becomes an Act only on Royal Assent, which by convention is never refused; the last refusal was in 1708. The King opens each session with the King's Speech, written by the Government. Parliament is summoned, prorogued and dissolved in his name. Under the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, dissolution is again a prerogative act on the Prime Minister's advice.
2. The House of Commons.
- Seats. 650 members, each elected for a single constituency. Under the 2023 boundary review, England has 543 seats, Scotland 57, Wales 32 and Northern Ireland 18. The new boundaries were first used at the general election of 4 July 2024.
- Electoral system. First past the post: the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins, even without a majority. Voters are British, Irish and qualifying Commonwealth citizens aged 18 or over who are registered in the constituency.
- Who may stand. A candidate must be at least 18 and a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen. The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 excludes civil servants, regular police officers, members of the regular armed forces and certain judges.
- Term. A Parliament is dissolved automatically five years after the day it first met, unless dissolved earlier (2022 Act, s.4).
- The present House. At the 2024 election Labour won 411 seats, the Conservatives 121, the Liberal Democrats 72 and the Scottish National Party 9. The system rewards parties whose support is concentrated. Labour won its large majority on about 33.7 per cent of the vote. Reform UK won 14.3 per cent of the vote but only five seats. Composition therefore depends on the electoral system as much as on votes.
- Officers. The Speaker presides and keeps order impartially. Sir Lindsay Hoyle was re-elected Speaker on 9 July 2024. The Leader of the House manages Government business, and the largest opposition party forms His Majesty's Opposition.
3. The House of Lords.
- Life peers. Most members are life peers appointed by the King on the Prime Minister's recommendation under the Life Peerages Act 1958. Their peerages end with their lives and cannot be inherited.
- Lords Spiritual. Up to 26 bishops of the Church of England sit: five by right of their sees and twenty-one by seniority.
- No hereditary peers. The House of Lords Act 1999 had kept 92 hereditary peers. The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 removed them, and their right to sit ended on 29 April 2026.
- Appointment. Since 2000 the House of Lords Appointments Commission recommends non-party crossbench members and vets all nominations for propriety.
- Leaving the House. Members may retire under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014. Under the House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension) Act 2015, the House may expel or suspend members.
- Officers. The Lord Speaker, elected by the House since 2006, presides. Lord Forsyth of Drumlean has held the office since 2 February 2026. The Law Lords left in 2009, when the Supreme Court took over their judicial work.
| Point | House of Commons | House of Lords |
|---|---|---|
| How members come | Elected by the people | Appointed for life, or bishops by office |
| Number | Fixed at 650 | No fixed number |
| Term | Up to five years | For life, unless they retire or are removed |
| Presiding officer | Speaker | Lord Speaker |
| Party control | Majority party forms the Government | No party has a majority; many crossbenchers |
| Main role | Makes and unmakes Governments; controls money | Revises and scrutinises |
Part B. Powers
Legal sovereignty. Dicey stated that Parliament has "the right to make or unmake any law whatever", and that no person or body may "override or set aside the legislation of Parliament". Three cases show what this means in practice.
- British Railways Board v. Pickin. In British Railways Board v. Pickin, [1974] AC 765, a landowner claimed that the Board had misled Parliament when it obtained the British Railways Act 1968. The House of Lords held that courts cannot inquire into how an Act was passed, even if Parliament was misled. Once an Act has passed both Houses and received Royal Assent, the courts must apply it.
- Factortame. In R v. Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame Ltd (No. 2), [1991] 1 AC 603, Spanish fishing companies challenged the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 as contrary to European Community law. The House of Lords disapplied the Act in their favour. It acted under the European Communities Act 1972, by which Parliament itself had given Community law priority. This qualification ended when the 1972 Act was repealed with effect from 31 January 2020.
- Jackson v. Attorney General. In Jackson v. Attorney General, [2005] UKHL 56, the Hunting Act 2004, passed without the Lords under the Parliament Act 1949, was challenged. All nine Law Lords upheld it. Lord Hope observed that "Parliamentary sovereignty is no longer, if it ever was, absolute", though this was said in passing.
Powers between the two Houses. Legally, the Commons has the greater power. The Lords may delay a money bill for one month (Parliament Act 1911, s.1). They may delay most other public bills for about a year (s.2, as amended in 1949). Only a bill to extend Parliament beyond five years remains subject to the Lords' full veto. Confidence in the Government is a matter for the Commons alone.
Part C. Functions
- Representation. Each MP represents a constituency and takes up its people's problems with ministers. The Commons reflects the result of the general election.
- Legislation. Parliament passes Government bills, private members' bills and private bills, and supervises delegated legislation made by ministers.
- Scrutiny and accountability. Through questions, debates and select committees, Parliament examines the Government's work. Ministers must explain their decisions in public. Departmental select committees, created in 1979, shadow each department. Since 2010 their chairs have been elected by the whole House by secret ballot, which gives them more independence from the party whips.
- Financial control. No tax may be raised and no money spent without Parliament's authority. The Commons votes supply, and the Public Accounts Committee checks spending.
- Legitimation. By passing laws in public after debate, Parliament gives the Government's policies the authority of the people's representatives.
- Recruitment of ministers. Ministers are drawn from the two Houses, almost all from the Commons. Parliament is the training ground of future Prime Ministers. Since the Earl of Home gave up his peerage in 1963, every Prime Minister has sat in the Commons.
- Deliberation. Both Houses debate the great questions of the day. The Lords, with its experts, adds informed revision.
Assessment
The composition of Parliament explains how it works. An elected Commons with a single-party majority usually supports the Government, so the Government controls much of Parliament's time. An appointed Lords lacks the legitimacy to resist the Commons for long. Critics therefore speak of executive dominance. Yet Parliament still removes Governments, forces ministers to explain themselves, and amends many bills. The removal of the hereditary peers in 2026 shows that its composition continues to change.
Conclusion. The Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the King, an appointed House of Lords and an elected House of Commons of 650. The Lords has had no hereditary members since 2026. In law its powers are sovereign. Pickin shows that courts will not examine how an Act was passed. Jackson upholds Acts passed by the Commons alone under the Parliament Acts. Factortame showed how Parliament itself could qualify that sovereignty, until it ended EU membership in 2020. Its functions are representation, legislation, scrutiny, financial control, legitimation, the recruitment of ministers and deliberation. Within this structure the Commons is supreme and the Lords revises.
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