House of Lords written question – answered at on 14 February 2000.
Lord Sawyer
Labour
asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they will make a decision on the case of Senator Pinochet.
Lord Bassam of Brighton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office
My Right Honourable Friend the Home Secretary will do so as soon as possible, but not before the High Court gives judgment in the current judicial review proceedings. My Right Honourable friend the Home Secretary proposes to give notice to the parties to the case on the day before he expects to make his decision, and will notify the parties and Another place immediately when the decision has been taken. It also remains his intention to make a full oral statement in another place when he is clear that it is appropriate to do so.
Yes2 people think so
No2 people think not
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The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
When speaking in the House of Commons, an MP will refer to another MP of the same party who is a member of the Privy Council as "my Right Honourable Friend"
Right Honourable is a form of address used within the House of Commons, for members of the Privy Council. Members of the person’s own party will refer to them as ‘My Right Honourable Friend, the member for [constituency]’. Members of other parties will refer to them as ‘The Right Honourable Lady/Gentleman, the member for [constituency]’. The Privy Council consists of, among others, Cabinet ministers and a number of junior ministers as well as former office holders.
During a debate members of the House of Commons traditionally refer to the House of Lords as 'another place' or 'the other place'.
Peers return the gesture when they speak of the Commons in the same way.
This arcane form of address is something the Labour Government has been reviewing as part of its programme to modernise the Houses of Parliament.
