ok i know i am late... but better late than never
(and i have only just seen it, like it, &wld luv some feedback) also was good reflection for me cos havnt looked at this AOS since i did it.
heres my 'round 1' answer
whilst much of the law making is done by the parliaments and courts, to a certain extent, individuals and groups can inflence a change in law through petitions and demonstrations.
petitions are a formal written request to the Parliament in relation to a particular law that is considered by a group to be out of date, which collects signatures to show support of the proposed change. they have to be addressed to a certain house of parliament, refer to matters within the Parliaments power, state the facts and clearly outline the action they wish to be taken with more than one signature.
demonstrations, on the other hand, are the gathering of persons (rather than signatures) attending a gathering, all in support of the changing of the law and wanting to influence the law. this done to alert the attention of the Government or other ministers to change the law.
petitions in comparision to demonstrations are very easy and can quickly gather alot of online support, this being a great advantage as the more support shown the more influence it has on the law. furthermore, petitions directly contact the Parliament and clearly outline the wanted action to be taken. however, whilst this is strength, Parliament gets alot of petitions are therefore arent able to respond to all of them.
although it depends on the issue wanting to be changed, petitions can be an effective way to influence the law as it is a direct way to contact the Parliament and have been successful as shown in oscar's law and cruelty to animals.