parliamentary supremacy Flashcards
What is Parliamentary Sovereignty according to Dicey?
Parliament is the supreme law-making body that can enact laws on any subject matter. It is not bound by predecessors or successors, and no one can question its enactments’ validity.
What does the principle “Parliament can make or unmake any law” imply?
It means Parliament’s jurisdiction has no limit, such as conferring or retracting state independence. Though theoretical, it shows the academic nature of Parliament’s powers, even if impractical.
What is an example of Parliament’s power to pass retrospective laws?
War Damages Act 1965: Passed in response to the Burmah Oil v Lord Advocate case, it retroactively nullified the House of Lords’ decision to award compensation for war damages.
Can one Parliament bind a future Parliament?
No, one Parliament cannot bind another. This is demonstrated by doctrines of implied and expressed repeal, where later Acts override earlier ones.
What case exemplifies the doctrine of implied repeal?
Vauxhall Estates v Liverpool Corp (1932): Despite an express provision in an earlier statute, the later statute prevailed under the doctrine that one Parliament cannot bind another.
What was significant about the Acts of Union 1706/1707?
These Acts united the Parliaments of England and Scotland and were intended to be everlasting. However, devolution (e.g., Scotland Act 1998) has provided Scotland with autonomous powers, showing that no Parliament can bind another.
What is the Enrolled Bill Rule?
A: Once a bill passes through Parliament and receives Royal Assent, courts cannot overturn it. This was upheld in Pickin v British Railway Board (1974), where the court refused to overturn a later statute.
What was the significance of Pickin v British Railway Board (1974)?
It reaffirmed that courts must apply Acts of Parliament and cannot overturn them once passed, even if they seem unjust.
How does the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 limit parliamentary sovereignty?
In AG v New South Wales Trethowan (1932), the court held that laws must conform to the provisions of the Colonial Laws Validity Act, showing how manner and form restrictions can limit legislative authority.
What was the significance of Van Gend en Loos (1963) and Costa v ENEL (1964) in relation to EU law?
These cases confirmed that by signing treaties, Member States, including the UK, had limited their sovereign rights, creating a new legal order where EU law took precedence over national law.
What was the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on Parliamentary Sovereignty?
Sections of the HRA require UK courts to interpret laws in light of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and they can issue declarations of incompatibility if domestic laws conflict with the ECHR.
What role does devolution play in Parliamentary Sovereignty?
Devolution acts, such as the Scotland Act 1998 and Northern Ireland Act 1998, grant autonomy to regional assemblies, showing Parliament’s flexibility and the modern challenges to its absolute sovereignty.
What is the Aviation Security Act 1982 an example of in terms of Parliamentary power?
It demonstrates Parliament’s ability to pass laws that extend its jurisdiction beyond national borders, in this case, allowing the UK to exercise jurisdiction over hijacking cases regardless of where the hijacking occurs or the nationality of the hijacker.
What is the Parliament Act 1911 and 1949 significant for?
These Acts limited the powers of the House of Lords, reducing its ability to veto legislation to a delaying power, demonstrating Parliament’s ability to alter its own structures and functions.
What did the House of Lords Act 1999 change?
It abolished hereditary peers’ right to automatically sit and vote in the House of Lords, further showing Parliament’s power to reform its own composition and structures.
