Parliament is sovereign - Types of sovereignty Flashcards
Legal sovereignty meaning…
Where ultimate and supreme legal authority lies: in the UK this is Parliament
Legal sovereignty exemplar…
Parliament can suspend or modify part of the Human Rights Act through derogation, as it did in 2005 with the use of control orders that otherwise would have breached the compatibility of the Counter Terrorism Act 2005 with Article 5 of the HRA
Political sovereignty meaning…
The ability to exercise legal power, dealing with the reality of matters rather than pure principles
Political sovereignty exemplar…
Parliament may wish to abolish the Human Rights Act but doing so would be met by opposition in the UK and internationally, making it difficult to do so
Popular sovereignty meaning…
The will of the people must be listened to and acted upon in order to maintain peace and ideas of British democracy
Popular sovereignty exemplar…
Despite a large majority of MPs at the time wishing to remain in the EU, Parliament voted to trigger Article 50 because it was the will of the people expressed through a referendum
Pooled sovereignty meaning…
Parliament may choose to share its legal authority with other bodies, such as the EU, the UN, or NATO
Pooled sovereignty exemplar…
When the UK was a member of the EU, Parliament shared power over certain issues with the EU, allowing EU institutions to make decisions that Parliament would then follow
