Index Page to Parliament
The 'commons'
were summoned to all the parliaments of
Edward III and, by the end of his reign, a separate
House of Commons
began to appear.
The House of Lords is the ultimate court of appeal in Great Britain and Northern
Island excepting for criminal cases in Scotland.
Each house of
parliament
has the right to regulate its own internal proceedings and commit for contempt.
The Lords possessed an ancient right to be tried by their peers for felony or
treason, a right which they surrendered in 1948.
The
longest recorded sitting of the House of Lords is 19 hours commencing at 1430h
on February 29th, 1968, and ending at 0930h on March 1st.
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