Has the principle of parliamentary sovereignty been undermined? - paragraph

Question 1

Has the principle of parliamentary sovereignty been undermined? - devolution

Answer 1

Parliamentary sovereignty, the idea that Parliament has ultimate authority and the
final say on the law, is traditionally one of the key principles of the UK constitution.
However, a number of developments have undermined the principle of parliamentary
sovereignty.
In 1999 the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Parliament were created and given
powers to make laws for their region. This process of giving powers to regional
legislatures is called ‘devolution’. This means that since 1999 different laws may
apply in Scotland and Wales, passed by their regional parliaments, that are different
from the Acts of Parliament passed by the UK Parliament. This could be seen to
undermine the parliamentary sovereignty of the UK parliament; it does no longer
have the final say on laws applying in the whole country. However, the Scottish and
Welsh parliaments were created through an Act of Parliament, and the UK
Parliament could pass a law to abolish them again, giving it in theory still the final
say.

Question 2

supreme court

Answer 2

In 2005 Parliament passed a law to create a separate Supreme Court as highest
court in the UK. Before, the highest court of the UK, with the final say on how the law
should be interpreted and enforced, were the ‘Law Lords’, who were part of the
House of Lords, and therefore Parliament. The new Supreme Court is no longer part
of the House of Lords, but completely separate, improving the separation of powers.
In a landmark court case in 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that the prorogation
(suspension) of Parliament by Boris Johnson, using his prerogative powers, was
unlawful and had to be stopped immediately.
Apart from these two developments, the increased use of referendums and EU
membership have also undermined the sovereignty of parliament.