Parliamentary Sovereignty and Statutory Interpretation Flashcards
What is parliamentary sovereignty?
Parliamentary sovereignty is a constitutional principle which allows Parliament to be the supreme legal authority in the UK
What is parliamentary sovereignty subject to?
Some EU law concepts, even in spite of Brexit
What are the key principles of parliamentary sovereignty?
It gives Parliament the power to create and repeal any law.
The courts cannot overrule statute, but statute can overrule case law.
UK Courts and international courts have no power under English law to declare an Act invalid. UK judges can say that an act is incompatible with HRA 1998, but this is not the same as declaring an Act unlawful.
However, Parliament cannot pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change.
What happens when there is a conflict between statute and other sources of law?
Statute prevails
To whom do statutes apply?
Statues apply to all of the UK unless there is a specific statement in the Act that says otherwise
What does it mean to consolidate legislation?
Where one statue re-enacts law that was previously contained in several different statutes. This does not include case law. It also does not (usually) change old law.
What does codification mean?
Where all the law on one topic (inc. common law, custom and statute) is bought together under one new statutes. Codification does include case law and can change old law.
What is the Wales settlement?
In the 60s, Wales wanted independence. This was rejected in a referendum. There was another referendum for Wales to have a degree of self-government in the 90s. This was positive and lead to the establishment of the Senedd which as devolved powers.
What is the reserved powers model and where is this used?
The Senedd can make primary legislation, but some matters are reserved for UK parliament and there are restrictions on Senedd’s powers
What are acts of the Senedd also called?
National Assembly Acts
What structure do Acts of the Senedd take?
The same as UK acts, but the coat of arms is different
When are the statutory interpretation mechanisms used by a judge?
When the Act relevant to the case is unclear
Give an overview for the procedure to pass a Senedd Act
Bill is formally introduced
Stage one consists of:
o Initial committee report
o Consideration of correspondence, timetable and consideration by the financial committee
o Debate on general principles and financial resolution
Stage two consists of:
o Detailed committee stage where amendments are considered
Stage three:
o Plenary consideration of amendments
Stage four:
o The Bill received Royal Assent
Who used the statutory interpretation rules?
Judges in cases and lawyer when advising clients as to how a judge might decide upon their case
What are the rules of construction?
o The literal rule
o The golden rule
o The mischief rule
How must a judge use statutory interpretation mechanisms?
A judge has discretion over which rule to use. They are under no obligation to use these rules.
They can consider more than one and do not need to disclose which rule they use.
Rules of language and rules of contraction can be used at the same time
What approach should the judge take when there is ambiguity and the Act imposes criminal sanction?
The judge should give any benefit of doubt to D but a judge may want to rely on the mischief rule in order to give effect to the purpose of the legislation
i.e. an act says prostitution is illegal in the street or public places. Literal interpretation would mean prostitution in the home is permissible. A judge used the mischief approach to to find the prostitute guilty.
What is the literal rule?
Words in a statute must be given their plain, ordinary and literal meaning
If the words are clear, they must be applied in this way even if the intention of the legislator may have been different
This is usually the starting point for judges
What is the drawback of the literal rule?
It could lead to absurd results which are in facts the opposite of parliaments intention
