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Parliamentary Sovereignty - Coggle Diagram
Parliamentary Sovereignty
Intro
Nature of Parliamentary Sovereignty:
Parliament is the supreme law making body and can enact laws on any subject matter
No parliament may be bound by a predecessor or bind a successor
No person/court of law can question validity of parliament's enactments (boo)
Principles
Principle 1
What can Parliament do?
Alter terms of office
Alter succession of the throne
Reconstitute itself
Alter its own powers
Grants of independence etc.
Examples
Grants of Independence: The Statute of Westminster 1931
Madzimbamuto v. Lardner-Burke (1969)
House of Lords Act 1999, War Damages Act 1965 etc.
Principle 2
No Parliament may be bound by a predecessor or bind a successor :
Doctrine of implied repeal -
Judge give effect to the rule against Parliament being bound by previous parliaments (guarantees contemporary sovereignty)
Vauxhall Estates Ltd v. Liverpool Corporation:
Facts: The owners of the private land were therefore able to get compensation but 2 different statutes gave different results on how much compensation should be paid
Held: Court held that the latest act (Housing Act 1925) repealed the earlier act (Acquisition of Land Act 1919) for assessing compensation in acquiring slum housing for redevelopment where newer Act prevails
Grants of Independence: The Statute of Westminster 1931
Blackburn v. Attorney-General:
Affirmed Parliament's right to sign the Maastricht Treaty and thus voluntary give some of its power to the EC, despite principle of Parliamentary sovereignty
Principle 3
No person or body - including a court of law - may question the validity of Parliament's enactments
Sovereignty may be lost by:
Parliament decides to abolish sovereignty of Parliament tested by a referendum
Judiciary undergoes a "Revolution" and accepts Parliament no longer the sovereign making body
Political sovereignty vests with the
people
, legal sovereignty with Parliament
Limitations
Their Manners and Forms
Parliament binding its Successor
Attorney General for New South Wales v. Trethowan (1932):
The Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865. an Act of UK Parliament that limits the powers of subordinate colonial legislatures
Section 5 of the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 provides that statutes enacted by colonial legislatures that aims to alter their 'constitution, powers, procedures' will have legal effect only if passed in 'such manner or form' as the law then in force
Common law
Dr. Bonham's Case (1610)
- Common law controls the acts of Parliament and would adjudge it to be void - obiter dictum
Signing Treaty:
"Backburn v. Attorney-General
Devolution & Parliamentary Sovereignty
Application in Scotland
Union with Scotland in Sillars v Smith:
Question on validity of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 on the basis the Westminster Parliament has no power to repeal the Act. The Court dismissed the claim
Application in Northern Ireland
Article 5
- United Church of England and Ireland that 'shall be and shall remain in full force forever... deemed to be a fundamental part of the union'
Issues
Ability - to legislate for devolved nations contrary to their wishes
The power to abolish the devolved legislature body and reclaim the powers devolved
Parliamentary Sovereignty & EU Law
Human Rights Act 1998
The HRA 1998 preserves Parliament's theoretical sovereignty
Act provides that judges in the higher courts may issue 'declarations of incompatibility' between statute and the Convention rights incorporated under the Act
How it works:
When a declaration is made, matter is referred to the executive, which may choose whether and how to amend the law to comply with Convention rights
When proposals for legislation is introduced in Parliament, the current minister must declare whether the Bill complies with Convention rights. If it does not, an explanation of necessity for the legislation must be given
Ordinary & Constitutional Statute
Thoburn v Sunderland City Council (2002): In my opinion a constitutional statute is one which -
a) considers the legal relationship between citizens and state in some general overarching manner, or
b) enlarges/diminishes the scope of which we would now regard as fundamental constitutional rights
Ordinary statutes may be impliedly repealed. Constitutional statutes may not