Acts of Parliament such as the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 are debated in both Houses of Parliament, the Commons and the Lords, and then provided they are passed by votes in both Houses, they become law. There are of course exceptions to this general rule, such as the Hunting Act 2004, which was not accepted by the House of Lords, but still became law because of the procedure in the 1911 and 1949 Parliament Acts. This provides that if the measure has been passed by the House of Commons, the House of Lords can only block it for a year before it can become law. This procedure to force through a law that the House of Lords does not agree with has only been used on a few occasions — for further details see www.philipallan.co.uk/lawreview.
For the passing of most laws there is often considerable debate in both Houses and there is eventually consensus between both Houses on whether the law should be passed and how it should read. These debates can take place either in whole-house debates or in smaller committees. Members of the public can lobby MPs and Lords on the general purpose of the law and on individual parts of it. The press can report on the debates and the whole process is open and subject to scrutiny.
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