HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Parliamentary sovereignty, also called parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy, is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. It holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all other government institutions, including
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive di ...
or judicial bodies. It also holds that the legislative body may change or repeal any previous legislation and so it is not bound by written law (in some cases, not even a
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
) or by precedent. In some countries, parliamentary sovereignty may be contrasted with separation of powers, which limits the legislature's scope often to general law-making and makes it subject to external
judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...
, where laws passed by the legislature may be declared invalid in certain circumstances. Many states have sovereign legislatures, including the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
, the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
,
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
,
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...
,
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
,
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, the Solomon Islands, and
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.


Australia

Under the federal system, neither the states nor the federal parliament in Australia have true parliamentary sovereignty. The
Commonwealth Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...
is created by the federal
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
, and only has enumerated powers. Each state's legislative power is inherent but restrained by the federal constitution, the relevant state constitution, and Commonwealth powers. Nevertheless, in Australian context, parliamentary supremacy is used contextually as a term and has two meanings: one is that parliament (the legislature) can make and unmake any law; another meaning is that as long as parliament (legislature) has the power to make laws regarding a subject matter, the exercise of that power cannot be challenged or reviewed by the judiciary. The second meaning is more consistent with the federal system and the practice of judicial review, as the judiciary cannot review on the merits of the parliament (legislature)'s exercise of power. Blackshield and Williams explain that " Australia, the idea of Parliamentary Sovereignty must be understood in the context of the rigid limits and boundaries imposed by the federal Constitution, and to some extent by the State Constitutions as well." The constitution confers the power to make laws in the Commonwealth Parliament, however, this limited to particular subjects. Section 128 of the federal constitution prescribes the mode to alter the constitution, which further restricts the power of the Commonwealth Parliament. The supremacy clause (section 109 of the constitution) gives Commonwealth laws precedence over state laws. The state law-making power is therefore constrained where the Commonwealth has concurrent law-making power. Furthermore, regarding the subject matters which Commonwealth has concurrent legislative power, the Commonwealth Parliament can 'cover the field', which means the Commonwealth can, by express words or by implication, exclude the operations of state laws. The Commonwealth Parliament has exclusive legislative power over the subject matters listed in sections 52 and 92 of the constitution, which means that the states cannot make laws in these areas. Also under section 96 of the constitution, the Commonwealth can use financial assistance to entice states to refrain from exercising their legislative powers, such as refraining from collecting income tax. Each state parliament power is subject to procedural limitation, which is the entrenchment of restrictive legislative procedure. Section 6 of the Australia Act states that laws concerning the "constitution, power or procedure of the parliament" are invalid unless passed in the manner and form prescribed by the legislation made by the parliament.


Belgium

Over the last forty years or so, a change has been observed in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
in the relationships between the judiciary and Parliament. The "dogma of absolute inviolability of the parliamentary assemblies" used to exist but has been "breached". The parliamentary assemblies are now accountable not just to the electors but also to the courts. A first breach opened up by the ''Le Ski'' judgement of 27 May 1971, in which the Belgian Court of Cassation upheld the supremacy of the norm of self-executing international law. Then in 1980, Article 142 of the Constitution (former Article 107 ter) established a Court of Arbitration in Belgium, nowadays the Constitutional Court, charged with hearing actions for annulment of laws. It would hand down its first judgement on 5 April 1985. A second breach was opened in the dogma of inviolability of the assemblies was by the Constitutional Court, in its judgement no. 31/96 of 15 May 1996. The Council of State, the highest administrative Court in Belgium, which had previously always insisted it had no jurisdiction to hear annulment applications against the administrative acts by the Houses of Parliament, declared that the absence of any possibility to apply for the annulment of such acts was contrary to the constitutional principles of equality and non-discrimination, opened up a new avenue for judicial review of Parliament’s acts: the laws of 25 May 1999 and of 15 May 2007, adopted in the wake of the Court’s judgement, extended the jurisdiction of the Supreme Administrative Court to the acts and Rules of Procedure of the legislative assemblies or their organs with regard to public procurement and personnel. Third and finally, concerning the decisions taken by the assemblies with regard to MPs or political groups, the civil courts have not hesitated to sanction them when subjective rights were at stake. MPs "enjoy the protection of their subjective rights by the law courts. This principle applies both for rights deriving from the law in the broad sense and for rights which have a regulatory basis" (Civ. Brussels, 21 April 1997).


Canada

Legislatures of Canadian provinces are "sovereign within matters enumerated to them". Provincial legislatures can make and modify their own codified constitutions by simple majority, as British Columbia did. Similarly, the federal Parliament is "sovereign in all matters delegated to it", but most amendments to the federal Constitution may only be made with the consent of both Parliament and two-thirds of provinces containing 50% of the population (the 7/50 rule), or in some cases, unanimous consent of the provinces. In addition, although a law can be challenged and struck down by a court when found to be in violation of certain sections of the ''
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part ...
'', Parliament or provincial legislatures may invoke Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the " notwithstanding clause") to allow the law to operate for up to five years, at which time it may either lapse or be renewed.


Finland

According to the
constitution of Finland The Constitution of Finland ( fi, Suomen perustuslaki or sv, Finlands grundlag) is the supreme source of national law of Finland. It defines the basis, structures and organisation of government, the relationship between the different constitutio ...
sovereign power lies with the people, represented by the parliament. As the highest organ of government the parliament holds supreme legislative power and can override a presidential veto and alter the constitution. There is no constitutional court and the supreme court does not have an explicit right to declare a law unconstitutional. By principle, the constitutionality of laws in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the Constitutional Law Committee of the parliament reviews any doubtful bills and recommends changes, if needed. In practice, the Constitutional Law Committee fulfills the duties of a constitutional court. In addition to preview by the Constitutional Law Committee, all Finnish courts of law have the obligation to give precedence to the constitution when there is an obvious conflict between the Constitution and a regular law. The power to alter and amend the constitution is vested with the parliament, requiring approval either by a two-thirds vote in a single parliament if the proposed alteration is first declared to be urgent by a five-sixths vote of the same parliament, or by a slower procedure of first passing the amendment by a majority in the then current parliament and then passing the amendment by a two-thirds vote in the following parliament that convenes after a general election. A Finnish peculiarity is that the parliament can make exceptions to the constitution in ordinary laws that are enacted in the same procedure as constitutional amendments. An example of such a law is the ''State of Preparedness Act'' which gives the Council of State certain exceptional powers in cases of national emergency. As these powers, which correspond to U.S. executive orders, affect constitutional basic rights, the law was enacted in the same manner as a constitutional amendment. However, it can be repealed in the same manner as an ordinary law. Executive power is shared by the President of the Republic and the cabinet. The latter must rely on the confidence of parliament. From the independence of Finland in 1917 up to the constitutional reform of 1999, the president held considerable executive powers, and in particular was able to call a re-election of the parliament at will. In order to strengthen the role of the parliament as the highest organ of government, the constitutional reform constrained most of the presidential powers to be exercised only on the advice of the cabinet.


Israel

The
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...
, the legislative branch of the Israeli government, has the power to enact and repeal all laws. It enjoys ''
de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...
'' parliamentary supremacy, and can pass any law by a simple majority, even one that might arguably conflict with a
Basic Law of Israel The Basic Laws of Israel ( he, , Ḥukey HaYesod) are thirteen constitutional laws of the State of Israel, and some of them can only be changed by a supermajority vote in the Knesset (with varying requirements for different Basic Laws and section ...
, unless it has specific conditions for its modification. The Knesset can adopt and amend Basic Laws acting through its capacity as a Constituent Assembly. The Knesset also supervises government activities through its committees, elects the Prime Minister of Israel and approves the Cabinet of Israel, elects the
President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The po ...
, and recommends the
Comptroller of Israel The State Comptroller of Israel ( he, מבקר המדינה ''Mevaker HaMedina'', ar, مراقب الدولة, literally: ''Critic of State'') inspects, reviews, and audits the policies and operations of the government of the State of Israel. Th ...
. It also has the power to remove the President and State Comptroller from office, revoke the immunity of its members, and to dissolve itself and call new elections.


Italy

The sovereignty of Parliament in Italy is born from parliamentary privilege, but, in one of the most comprehensive and compelling "systemic" judgments, the Constitutional Court (rapporteur Carlo Mezzanotte) had opened the justiciability of ‘'interna corporis'’. Traces of the old theories are expressed in ''autodichia'', which involves subtracting the ordinary courts of all acts performed within the Chambers. The choice to set off some acts to the Presidents of the Parliament has been criticized as an attempt to exclude them from judicial review, even when pertaining to individual rights: this has given rise to some conflicts between the judiciary and Parliament, brought to the Constitutional Court, who gave useful elements to restrict the legal definition, compelling the legal doctrine through the modern evolution of the sovereignty of Parliament.


New Zealand

The concept in
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
is derived from that in the United Kingdom. The parliament exercises sovereignty. Some legal experts such as
Robin Cooke Robin Brunskill Cooke, Baron Cooke of Thorndon (9 May 1926 – 30 August 2006) was a New Zealand judge and later a British Law Lord and member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He is widely considered one of New Zealand's most ...
in ''
Taylor v New Zealand Poultry Board ''Taylor v New Zealand Poultry Board'' was a decision of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand concerning the right to silence and implied statutory repeal of the common law privilege against self-incrimination. The decision, about " constitution ...
,'' 984have questioned how far parliamentary sovereignty goes. There are several laws and conventions that limit the exercise of parliamentary sovereignty. For example, the maximum term of Parliament and some other matters relating to the electoral system may only be altered by a parliamentary supermajority or by a majority in a popular
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...
. However, these requirements may be themselves altered by a parliamentary majority.


Norway

The principle of separation of powers laid out by the constitution of 1814, was challenged in 1884 when a parliamentary majority led by the ( Liberal party (''Venstre'')) impeached the government appointed by the king.


United Kingdom


History

Originally, legislative power was exercised by the Sovereign acting on the advice of the '' Curia regis'', or Royal Council, in which important magnates and clerics participated and which evolved into parliament. In 1265, the Earl of Leicester irregularly called a full parliament without royal authorisation. Membership of the so-called Model Parliament, established in 1295 under Edward I, eventually came to be divided into two branches: bishops, abbots, earls, and barons formed the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
, while the two knights from each shire and two burgesses from each borough led the House of Commons. The King would seek the advice and consent of both houses before making any law. During Henry VI's reign, it became regular practice for the two houses to originate legislation in the form of bills, which would not become law unless the Sovereign's assent was obtained, as the Sovereign was, and still remains, the enactor of laws. Hence, all Acts include the clause "Be it enacted by the Queen's (King's) most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows...". The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 provide a second potential preamble if the House of Lords were to be excluded from the process. During the 17th century in England, a notion developed that Parliament (made up of the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
and House of Commons) shared in sovereignty with the King, based on an entirely erroneous notion of the history of Parliament. It was not until the changing of the Coronation Oath in the
Coronation Oath Act 1688 The Coronation Oath Act 1688 (1 Will & Mary c 6) is an Act of the Parliament of England. It was passed in 1689 ( New Style; 1688 Old Style). The preamble noted that "by the Law and Ancient Usage of this Realm" the monarchs of England had taken ...
as part of the Glorious Revolution that Parliament was recognised as part of the constitutional structure, with laws being considered to emanate from Parliament and not just the King. The Bill of Rights 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 were passed the following year which asserted certain rights of the parliaments of England (which at the time included
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
) and Scotland and limited the powers of the monarch. Furthermore, in 1698 Parliament created the Civil List, a financial arrangement that left the monarch reliant on Parliament for income. After 1689 English parliamentary supremacy became evident in the relation of the English parliament to those of
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
. The Act of Settlement 1701 made a presumption upon Scotland: the Scots retaliated with the
Act of Security 1704 The Act of Security 1704 (also referred to as the Act for the Security of the Kingdom) was a response by the Parliament of Scotland to the Parliament of England's Act of Settlement 1701. Queen Anne's last surviving child, William, Duke of Glou ...
, which was countered by the
Alien Act 1705 The Alien Act was a law passed by the Parliament of England in February 1705, as a response to the Parliament of Scotland's Act of Security of 1704, which in turn was partially a response to the English Act of Settlement 1701. Lord Godolphin, t ...
: the issue was settled by the Union of the parliaments of England and Scotland in 1707 which created a new British parliament, though "in essence it was just an extension of the English parliament". However the truth of that comment historically, legally under the Treaty of Union as implemented by the Acts of Union of 1706/7, the English and Scottish Parliaments had given up their rights and sovereignty to the new, Union Parliament. Perhaps it is more correct to say that they had “pooled” their sovereignty. It is arguable whether the concept of parliamentary supremacy arose from the Acts of Union 1707 or was a doctrine that evolved thereafter. The autonomy of the
Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two ch ...
also came under attack and the Declaratory Act 1720 made the Irish parliament a dependency. The so-called
Constitution of 1782 The Constitution of 1782 was a group of Acts passed by the Parliament of Ireland and the Parliament of Great Britain in 1782–83 which increased the legislative and judicial independence of the Kingdom of Ireland by reducing the ability of ...
removed British parliamentary supremacy over Ireland for a short period but then the Irish parliament was merged with Britain's in the Acts of Union 1800. The doctrine of parliamentary supremacy may be summarized in three points: * Parliament can make laws concerning anything. * No Parliament can bind a future parliament (that is, it cannot pass a law that cannot be changed or reversed by a future Parliament). * A valid Act of Parliament cannot be questioned by the court. Parliament is the supreme lawmaker. Some scholars and judges have questioned the traditional view that Parliament cannot bind itself, arguing that it can impose procedural (or "manner and form") restrictions on itself, since the legislature must be constituted and regulated by legal rules. The notion of parliamentary sovereignty began to be challenged with the
Parliament Act 1911 The Parliament Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5 c. 13) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two Houses of Pa ...
which changed the nature of what was meant by parliament, as Dicey regretfully noted in the Introduction to the 8th edition of his ''
Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution ''Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution'' is a book by A. V. Dicey about the constitution of the United Kingdom. It was first published in 1885. Dicey was named the Vinerian Professor of English Law at the University of Oxfor ...
'' (1915), but that while the reality was now
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
and political party were supreme (pp lxxii–lxxiv), in law Parliament was still sovereign albeit that "the share of sovereignty" of the Commons had increased (p xlii).


England and the UK generally

Parliamentary supremacy is cited by contemporary American legal historians as the reason English law did not develop due process in the American sense. It is also argued to be integral to the way in which England's approach to rights and liberties evolved. The doctrine of parliamentary supremacy was demonstrated in, for example, the War Damage Act 1965. In English Law, it was upheld in 2005 by Lord Bingham in the case of ''
R (Jackson) v Attorney General ''R (Jackson) v Attorney General'' House of Lords case noted for containing obiter">Judicial functions of the House of Lords">House of Lords case noted for containing obiter comments by the Judiciary acting in their official capacity suggestin ...
'': However, there is a distinction to be made between legal sovereignty and political sovereignty. Parliament is not politically sovereign, which means that if Parliament passes unpopular or oppressive legislation, then it may not be applied in practice; for example, the various civil servants who administer laws within government departments may be relied upon to use any loopholes and vague language which exists in a Bill to get around unwanted areas, and the judiciary is likely to purposefully interpret and create precedent for said laws in a similar manner. However this does not necessarily mean that Parliament is not legally sovereign. It is argued that nonetheless Parliament can legally pass any legislation it wishes. This point is made clearly by Lord Reid in '' Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke'' 9691 AC 645:


Scotland and the Acts of Union

It is not necessarily the case that parliamentary sovereignty extends to changing the Act of Union at will.


Recent developments

In recent years some judges and scholars in Britain and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
have questioned the traditional view that parliament is sovereign. Others, however, have rejected these arguments. Various constitutional changes in the United Kingdom have influenced the renewed debate about parliamentary sovereignty: # The devolution of power to local
legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
s in Scotland (Scottish Parliament), Wales ( Senedd) and Northern Ireland ( Northern Ireland Assembly): All three bodies can pass primary legislation within the areas that have been devolved to them, but their powers nevertheless all stem from the UK Parliament and can be withdrawn unilaterally. In particular Northern Ireland, devolution dates back over a century but has been suspended multiple times due to political deadlocks and sectarian conflicts. Parliament retains the power to legislate for these 3 nations in any area, seen in the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 which altered abortion law in Northern Ireland, which had been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. # The UK's membership of the European Communities, later the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
, from 1973: The EU represents, as the European Court of Justice ruled in 1963 in the case '' Van Gend en Loos'', a "new legal order of international law for the benefit of which the emberStates have limited their sovereign rights, albeit within limited fields". The UK became part of that legal order, though as UK membership of the EU has been brought about through Acts of Parliament – principally the European Communities Act 1972 – Parliament could, as a matter of UK law, pass further legislation unilaterally withdrawing the UK from the Union, or selectively barring the application of European law within the UK. The
European Union Act 2011 The European Union Act 2011 (c. 12) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, requiring that a referendum be held on amendments of the Treaty on European Union or the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Introduced in th ...
reaffirmed that sovereignty lay with the British Parliament, with section 18 stating: "Directly applicable or directly effective EU law (that is, the rights, powers, liabilities, obligations, restrictions, remedies and procedures referred to in section 2(1) of the European Communities Act 1972) falls to be recognized and available in law in the United Kingdom only by virtue of that Act or where it is required to be recognised and available in law by virtue of any other Act." The Act also requires that a referendum be held when more powers are transferred to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
(though this can be repealed with another Act of Parliament). Alternatively, as prescribed by the
2016 Brexit referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...
, an Act to withdraw from the European Union could be passed in parallel with the withdrawal procedure laid down in Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, whereby a Member State would notify the European Council of its intention to secede from the Union and a withdrawal agreement would be negotiated between the Union and the State. The Treaties would cease to be applicable to that State from the date of the agreement or, failing that, within two years of the notification. # Following the case of '' Thoburn v Sunderland City Council'' certain statutes are perceived to be protected as constitutional statutes. The case involved amendments to the Weights and Measures Act 1985 by the Weights and Measures Act 1985 (Metrication) (Amendment) Order 1994 pursuant to Directive 80/181/EEC. This stated that
Imperial measurements The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units (also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1826) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed thr ...
could be displayed so long as the metric measurements were displayed in larger type beside them. Thoburn was convicted for only displaying Imperial measurements. In his defence he argued that allowing even limited use of Imperial measurements was inconsistent with the European directive and therefore in contravention of Section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, and that the relevant section of the 1972 Act had therefore been implicitly repealed. However, the judgement by
Lord Justice Laws Sir John Grant McKenzie Laws (10 May 1945 – 5 April 2020) was a Lord Justice of Appeal. He served from 1999 to 2016. He was the Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science at the University of Cambridge, and an Honorary Fellow of Robinson Co ...
held that certain statutes of constitutional importance, including Magna Carta and the European Communities Act 1972, could not be repealed by
implied repeal The doctrine of implied repeal is a concept in constitutional theory which states that where an Act of Parliament or an Act of Congress (or of some other legislature) conflicts with an earlier one, the later Act takes precedence and the conflicting ...
. The case also introduces the concept of a ' hierarchy of acts', which is used in other European countries, to English constitutional law. However, if Parliament did make its intention to overrule any statute express then any statute can be repealed, and so sovereignty is preserved. # The enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 which incorporates part of the
European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...
into domestic law. The Act gives UK courts the power to issue a declaration of incompatibility where they believe that the terms of an Act of Parliament are in contravention of the rights guaranteed by the Human Rights Act. The effect of the declaration is not to annul the contravening Act but to send a signal to Parliament which may then choose to amend the offending provision. This does not endanger Parliamentary sovereignty because Parliament may choose not to amend the offending provisions. As with the UK's membership of the European Union, the principle of parliamentary supremacy means that Parliament can at any time vote to repeal the Human Rights Act, and indeed the UK's ratification of the Convention itself. However, Parliament may theoretically withdraw from commitments it has made or repeal any of the constraints it has imposed on its ability to legislate.


See also

* Fusion of powers * Westminster System * Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom *
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...
and Constitution of the United Kingdom; also
Parliament in the Making Parliament in the Making was a programme of events organised by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to commemorate a series of anniversaries in 2015 including: * the sealing of ''Magna Carta'', on 15 June 1215, 800 years earlier * the first repr ...
; also Republicanism in the United Kingdom * Factortame case *
Section Thirty-three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 33 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is part of the Constitution of Canada. It is commonly known as the notwithstanding clause (french: clause dérogatoire, links=no or ), sometimes referred to as the override power, and ...
* List of democracy and elections-related topics * Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union * Congress of People's Deputies of Russia * Kompetenz-kompetenz


References


External links


Parliamentary sovereignty explained on UK parliament website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parliamentary Sovereignty Political science terminology Politics of the United Kingdom Constitution of the United Kingdom Sovereignty