Parliamentary sovereignty Flashcards
What is the principle of sovereignty in the UK legal context according to A.V. Dicey?
Dicey’s principle of sovereignty states that Parliament has the unrestricted right to make or unmake any law, with no individual or body able to override or set aside Parliament’s legislation.
What are the two aspects of parliamentary sovereignty articulated by A.V. Dicey?
The positive aspect, where Parliament’s enactments are to be obeyed by courts, and the negative aspect, which asserts that no person or body can make rules that override Acts of Parliament.
How did Ellen Street Estates v Minister of Health (1934) and Cheyney v Conn (1968) impact the concept of parliamentary sovereignty?
These cases underscore that courts must obey any Act of Parliament, highlighting the impossibility of Parliament binding itself regarding future statutes.
What significance does Jackson v Attorney General (2005) hold in terms of parliamentary sovereignty?
This case reinforced that Parliament cannot enact laws that future statutes cannot repeal, challenging the notion of entrenchment within UK law.
What was demonstrated by British Railways Board v Pickin (1974)?
This case demonstrated the courts’ role in applying, not questioning, the enactments of Parliament, reinforcing the supremacy of parliamentary legislation.
How have historical cases and events like the Glorious Revolution and the Bill of Rights contributed to the concept of parliamentary sovereignty?
These events have been foundational in establishing the limits of the Crown’s prerogative and affirming parliamentary sovereignty, setting historical precedents for the legal principle.
How does the relationship between UK law and international law illustrate the complexity of sovereignty?
What was Lord Kerr a proponent for? Which case outlined this?
The interplay with EU membership and international obligations, especially post-Brexit legal developments, showcases the challenges and adjustments in sovereignty concepts.
UK’s international commitments are also the basis of much domestic legislation. But the reception of international law into domestic law depends upon its acceptance in one of two ways: either by Parliament through legislation or by the judges through the common law1.
e.g. R (SG) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2015] UKSC 16. There Lord Kerr at [235]2 argued that the executive should be bound at the domestic level by human rights commitments undertaken at the international level. But even Lord Kerr recognises that his view is in conflict with “constitutional orthodoxy”.
What role does the Human Rights Act 1998 play in parliamentary sovereignty?
The Human Rights Act 1998 demonstrates Parliament’s ability to legislate in ways that may impact fundamental rights, subject to constitutional and international norms.
