Parliamentary Sovereignity Flashcards
How do constitutions protect individual human rights?
by enacting limits on government authorities that protect individual human rights. E.g., the Bill of rights and the humans rights act 1998
2 examples of bills/acts that protect individual human rights
Humans rights Act 1998, the Bill of rights
What type of democracy is the UK
Representative democracy
Two thinkers that agree with a representitve democracy and believe the state should best represent its citizens
Locke and Thomas Jefferson
Does Locke state that citizens should have the right to be free from the government interference (liberalism) in response to the relationship between citizens and the state
Yes
What is parliamentary sovereignity
Supreme power to make laws and repeal them
What is the rule of law
Equality under the law and human rights
What is the seperation of powers
requires that the principal institutions of state— executive (the prime minister) , legislature and judiciary—should be clearly divided in order to safeguard citizens’ liberties and guard against tyranny.
Is there a set definition for a constitution
No, the definitions of constitution are contended and all entail different strengths weaknesses.
What does the university college london define a constitition as
They define a constitution as the rule book for a state.
What is the functionalist definition of a constitution and who defines it.
The purpose (or function) of a constitution is to articulate and preserve a society’s fundamental moral principles - Ian loveland
Constitutions can apply above and below the state. Give 3 examples
-International law
-Regional
-Locally
Why cant parliament bind later parliaments?
Because parliament subsists overtime, therefore it cannot be used to bind parliament at later times. (The power of parliament remains the same and its powers do not cease as a matter of existing at one point in time)
Two things the functionalist says a constition can do
- A constitution sets up a type of state or political order;
- A constitution sets up limitations on the state and on the exercise of power through the creation of institutions and rules;
What does parliamentary sovereignity mean?
Parliament is the supreme law-making body and
that Parliament is the top political authority in the state.
Parliament can legislate on anything as they have unlimited legal “competence”
What case shows that the courts are hesistent to interfere in parliamentary procedure?
Pickin v British Railways board
Questions begged from parliamentary sovereignity
Was parliament always free?
Can parliament abolish itself or tie its hands in the future
Sources of parliamentary sovereignity
- The English revolution 1688 and the events leading up to the Bill of rights 1689
-From common law? No, statute entrenches the principle of parliamentary sovereignity., so as long as the courts exist, parliamentary sovereignity will too.
What was the role of the bill of rights in limiting the crowns power?
It suspended and dispensed the power of the crime to parliament.
What does article 9 of the bill of rights say
freedom of speech and debates and proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place outside Parliament.
Did the Acts of Union (between England and Scotland (1707) and Ireland and Britain (1800) constitute a fundamental law that limits what parliament can do?
No, parliamentary sovereignity remained intact. The act merged all parliaments into the parliament of the United Kingdom and redefined poltiical boundaries.
2 Consequences of parliamentary sovereignity
- 1) No institution has the power to question the validity of a statute
Parliament passes the law and no other institution can question the statutes made
⇒ 2) If there is a conflict between an older and a newer statute, the newer statute will prevail
What case affirms the fact that parliament cannot interfere with parliamentary sovereignity
Pickins v British Railway Board
