To What Extent Is Parliament Still Sovereign?

Before evaluating whether or not Parliament is sovereign, it’s important to define what sovereignty means. Sovereignty can be split into two; political and legal. Legal sovereignty is the ultimate power to make laws which will be enforced within the state. Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister have ultimate legal power because they propose and enforce legislation. Citizens have no legal sovereignty because they don’t play a role in the legislative function even though pressure group activity may influence decisions. Political sovereignty is where real political power lies, and depending on the situation political sovereignty doesn’t always lie within Parliament. Critics have argued that due to recent changes, Parliament is no longer

‘Parliamentary sovereignty is a constitutional relic. It has been rendered obsolete, in particular, by the supremacy of EU law and the UK’s statutory recognition of human rights. We should no longer talk about this irrelevant doctrine.’

The process of establishing devolution for Scotland began with the Scotland Act 1978, which made way for a referendum on devolution and attempted to gain more power and legislature abilities for Scotland. The rise of the SNP forced the Labour Government of James Callaghan to react. The terms of this Act stated 40% of the entire electorate had to vote “yes” for devolution and the establishment of a Scottish Assembly, this included those who did not vote which were counted as a “no” vote. The 1979 Referendum, on 1st March, saw a majority of 52% in favour of devolution, to 48% against. At first glance it appears Scotland was successful in its referendum, however only 32.9% of the electorate had joined the majority, meaning the 40% required to achieve devolution was not met. With this failure to achieve devolution, the SNP backed a Tory motion of no confidence in the Labour government which saw the 1979 election being called by just one vote. The 1979 election saw the rise of


In 1979, The Scots become asked whether they wanted a Scottish parliament or not, 52% of voters said they did—but the number was too low to accept it. Years went by, the and in 1997, over 74% of Scots voted for a parliament, which become duly formed. In 1999 Scotland got its own parliament. England still holds Scotland in an iron grip, because even though they have their own parliament, they don’t have the right to say much. Scotland getting its own government, gave them a little taste of

One of the tenets of law has always been the ideal that Parliament is wholly sovereign, being the conclusive controlling factor on which the United Kingdom constitution is based. Yet not all ideals are taken and translated into reality. The statement from Lord Hope in R (Jackson) v AG challenges the sovereignty of Parliament, by demonstrating that there may be limits to Parliamentary sovereignty of which can be seen through the proceedings of the R (Jackson) v AG case, Thoburn v Sunderland City Council, and HS2. Whilst conclusively determining that the rule of law is the ultimate controlling fact on which the United Kingdom’s constitution is based. Although counter-arguments can be taken from this statement and the appropriate cases, of which

The concept of parliamentary sovereignty is one of the imperative components of the supreme legal authority in UK constitution. The parliamentary supremacy is the key legislative authority body to all governmental establishment in the country. Which implies the parliament can charge power to the local authorities, professional bodies and statutory instruments to enact legislation.

Ministers are at the centre of the British government because in legal terms they are the most powerful figures in government. This therefore shows that the office of the Prime Minister has become too powerful as ministers are seen as agents of the prime

Becoming independent would therefore arguably be a step for democracy and for the health and recovery of its economy. The majority of laws which are put in place in Scotland are decided and passed in Westminster by English politicians who will not be affected by these laws and are intended primarily for England without much consideration for Scotland. At present Scotland has a government that runs lots of Scottish affairs but has one hand tied behind its back with ones not in their control – such as taxation and fiscal policies.

Devolution is the transfer of powers from a central body to subordinate regional bodies. In Scotland, Devolution was set up to restore legitimacy to a system of government that reflected Scottish preferences. The reason behind the demand for Scottish self-government is that Scotland had the historic status of nationhood before the Union of 1707 and within the Union, has a different set of legal, educational and religious institutions that reinforce a Scottish identity.

“Parliamentary sovereignty is no longer, if it ever was, absolute” (Lord Hope). Discuss with reference to at least three challenges to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. Parliamentary sovereignty is the concept that Parliament has the power to repeal, amend or create any law it wishes and therefore no body in the UK can challenge its legal validity. There are many people who would argue that this is a key principle to the UK Constitution, on the other hand, there are those who strongly believe that this idea is one of the past, and that the idea of the UK Parliament being sovereign is false. One of these people is Lord Hope, who said “Parliamentary sovereignty is no longer, if it ever was, absolute”. During the last 50 years there have been a variety of developments that have proved to be a challenge for the legitimacy of parliamentary sovereignty, and the ones which will be examined in this essay are: the devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament; The United Kingdom’s entry into the European Union in 1973; and finally the power of judicial review. Starting with the devolution of powers, these challenges will all be evaluated when discussing whether or not the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty applies to the United Kingdom. Westminster’s sovereignty has been gradually diminishing over time as varying amounts of power have been devolved to Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. In this essay, the devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament will be

The concept of devolution was first introduced in 1998 in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Devolution can be defined as the process whereby the central authority delegates part of her powers to the local or regional authority to exercise on her behalf. In this case, the UK parliament, which is the central authority, transfers some of its powers to the local authorities which are the Scottish parliament, the Northern Ireland parliament, the London Assembly and the National Assembly for Wales.

The legal doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty asserts that Parliament can make any law and no court can question the validity of an Act of Parliament. Implying that UK’s constitution dominates by the sovereignty of Parliament and that empowerment, may undermine the law’s role as a constitutional accountability mechanism. To asses this, it must be ascertained, first whether the doctrine is undermining the law’s role of ensuring accountability. Secondly, whether the law remains an effective accountability mechanism even with Parliamentary supremacy. Thirdly, the essay will focus on how other factors ensure the law’s role as an accountability mechanism is not diminished.

The debate on whether or not the UK’s amalgamation with the EU restricts its parliament’s power and therefore protests against one of the UK’s fundamental constitutional principles, parliamentary sovereignty, is vastly tendentious. The theory of parliamentary supremacy reverts back to 1689, long before Dicey’s era, when the bill of rights was sanctioned; it instigated the legal bequest that parliament should be recognized as the prime source of law in the United Kingdom, conclusively outpacing the Monarch’s powers . Today, parliament is acceded for being the most authoritative legislative figure within the obligated borders of the UK. Nevertheless, in its long-established culture, the concept of parliamentary sovereignty encounters acute duress as a result of EU amalgamation. This essay will examine weather or not the EU amalgamation impedes the rights of UK legislation, hence

Parliamentary sovereignty is a principle of constitutional law in the United Kingdom (UK). The understanding of Parliament possessing unlimited legislative authority is encapsulated by A.V. Dicey, who notes that Parliament, under the English constitutional laws, has the right to make or unmake any law, and that no one can overrule or set aside said legislation imposed by Parliament . However, due to membership in the European Union (EU), the UK is subjected to the supremacy of EU Law. This means that EU legislation overrides contradictory laws enforced in member states. Bearing this in mind, it must be considered whether the UK's membership in the European Union has fundamentally altered UK constitutional law by eroding parliamentary sovereignty.

To define parliamentary sovereignty does not seem too complicated when it is assessed in isolation. Only in connection with other constitutional principles difficult tensions arise. The orthodox view of parliamentary sovereignty is simply that only parliament has the right to make or unmake law and that no other institution can challenge that right. This also includes the rule that parliament cannot bind its successors. Parliament can follow its own procedural rules as it wishes and court cannot examine the procedure by which legislation has been passed (enrolled bill rule).