Parliamentary Sovereignty

Question 1

what is Dicey’s theory on Parliamentary Sovereignty?

Answer 1

1. Parliament is the supreme law-making body.
2. No Parliament may be bound by a predecessor or may bind a successor.
3. No person or body may question the validity of an Act of Parliament.

Question 2

Which one of the following statements is correct?

A. The consequence of parliamentary sovereignty being at the heart of the UK constitution is that Dicey’s rules create a very rigid legal framework.

B. The UK’s constitution can be described as entrenched in nature.

C. The fact that Parliament can pass whichever statutes it wants means that the UK constitution can be described as more legal than political in nature.

D. One can draw direct analogies between the sovereignty of the Westminster Parliament and that of regional and devolved assemblies.

E. One of the main reasons why the UK constitution is described as ‘flexible’ in nature is because the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty means that there are no entrenched constitutional rules.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Is the UK a monist or dualist State?

Answer 3

dualist, in which there is a distinction between the two sources of law.

Question 4

which treaty did the UK sign to become a full member of the European Union?

Answer 4

Treaty of Accession 1972

Question 5

what is the most significant principle of EU laid down by the European Court of Justice (ECJ)?

Answer 5

the supremacy/primacy of EU law over domestic law (established in Costa)

Question 6

Section 3 HRA

Answer 6

gives the UK courts the power to interpret all UK legislation, as far as possible, in a way that is compatible with ECHR.

Question 7

Section 4 HRA

Answer 7

affords judges the power to declare legislation incompatible with ECHR