parliamentary sovereignty Flashcards
what is parliamentary sovereignty?
Westminster parliament is the supreme lawmaker in the UK - can make or unmake any law
AV Dicey’s theory?
ordinary law is supreme
what is the entrenchment of ‘manner and form’?
there are procedural requirements that make it harder for subsequent parliaments to change the law
what type of legislation does the entrenchment of manner and form relate to?
relates to subordinate legislatures (such as the devolved assemblies in the UK)
can parliament enact laws which undermine fundamental rights?
yes they can however, if parliament wished to do this it has to state its intention in crystal clear terms. otherwise the courts, when exercising their powers of interpretation, will apply the strong presumption that parliament didn’t intend to restrict rights
if the UK wants International law as part of UK law what does it need to do?
needs to incorporate this body of external law into the UK legal system by passing a statute to that effect
do treaties have direct effect in English law?
no they do not (that’s why parliament passed the ECA 1972 in order to incorporate treaty of Rome 1957 into domestic law)
what happens when EU law and UK law conflicts?
EU law can override or ‘misapply’ conflicting UK statutes enacted after 1972
what does ‘primacy of EU law’ mean?
that EU law is supreme over domestic law
what happens if there is UK legislation that is pre-1972 and it is incompatible with EU law?
the doctrine of implied repeal operates meaning the legislation is overriden by the ECA to make EU law supreme
