ABSTRACT
The House of Lords emerged out of the Anglo-Saxon Witangemot and the Norman Curia Regis as gatherings which advised the King. The Peerage Act 1963 made it possible for hereditary peers, should they wish, to give up their title, in the case of Lords Home, Stansgate and Hailsham to pursue their political careers. Finally, the House of Lords Act 1999 abolished the hereditary principle, apart from 92 such peers, on a transitional basis, in lieu of a wholly reformed chamber. Some critics of the United Kingdom constitution argue that the House of Lords should be completely abolished as it serves no useful function. The Lords has its own array of select committees and can create more as its members think fit. The most important used to be the European Union (EU) Committee, monitoring draft EU laws through seven sub-committees, containing co-opted members.
