Parliamentary Sovereignty
According to A. V. Dicey, 1885, sovereignty, that is, ultimate power, lies with Parliament
Dicey outlines the main features of parliamentary sovereignty as 1. Parliament can make any law it wishes, omnipotent
2. Parliament cannot bind future Parliaments. 3. The courts must apply the laws made by Parliament
4. Laws made by Parliament override all other forms of law. Parliament is omnipotent, meaning it is all-powerful and has the authority to legislate on any matter
This can be seen in its ability to make laws which affect the monarch
For example, the Act of Settlement 1700 which prevented the children of King James II from succeeding the throne
Furthermore, the Crown Act 2013 changed the law on succession to the Crown
so that females had the right to become Queen if they were born first
Parliament can also change its own powers. This was seen in the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949
which allowed the House of Commons to introduce laws without the approval of the House of Lords
Parliament can even pass laws that are incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights
The minister responsible for introducing a bill must make a declaration as to whether, in their opinion
the bill is compatible with Convention rights. If they believe it is compatible, the declaration is made under Section 19.1.a of the Human Rights Act 1998
If they believe it is incompatible, the declaration is made under Section 19.1.c
A declaration of incompatibility will not prevent the bill becoming law. The first declaration under Section 19.1.e was made in the Communications Data Bill 2012
in relation to a proposed ban on political advertising. The bill never became law as it did not have the support of the Liberal Democrat members of the Coalition
Each new Parliament must be free to introduce or repeal whatever law it wishes
The only constraint is MPs need to appease the public if they wish to be re-elected
The courts have to apply the laws made by Parliament. This applies even if the law infringes the European Convention on Human Rights 1998
The courts can make a declaration of incompatibility, but they must still apply the statute
This was seen in H.V. Mental Health Review Tribunal, 2001, where the Mental Health Act 1983 placed the burden of proof on the patient
There is no power to challenge the validity of an Act where the correct procedures have been followed
In British Railways Board v Pickens, 1974, Mr. Pickens was deprived of his land under the British Railways Act 1968
He argued that British Railways Board had concealed matters from Parliament during the progress of the bill
which amounted to fraud and that the Act should therefore be shut down. The court held that they had no jurisdiction to invalidate an Act of Parliament
Statute law is the highest form of English law. It is binding and will prevail over case law, regulations, by-laws and the European Convention on Human Rights
Constraints on parliamentary sovereignty include political sovereignty and popular sovereignty. Political sovereignty refers to where power actually lies
In many ways, in reality, sovereignty lies with the government rather than with Parliament
The government will set the legislative agenda and is responsible for introducing public bills in Parliament
Due to the fact that the government has a majority in the Commons
there is little opposition to such bills in the Commons. Under the Charles Group Convention, the House of Lords will not vote against a bill that was in the government's manifesto
Popular sovereignty refers to where power lies with the people. There is strong popular sovereignty in the UK as can be seen in the Brexit referendum
Besides the fact there was no need to hold a referendum and that referendums are not legally binding under the UK Constitution
both Theresa May and Boris Johnson committed to action on the will of the people
The EU's Whipped Rules Bill 2017 was passed by Parliament despite the fact that the majority of MPs and Lords did not agree with it
UK membership of the EU had a number of impacts on parliamentary sovereignty
The EU could not see directives which dictated what laws Parliament had to introduce
which interfered with our freedom to introduce any law at will. A failure to implement a directive could have resulted in court action
For example, the case of recategraph, the Commission v UK 1979, where the UK Parliament failed to introduce law relating to categoraph
EU law ranks above UK statute law. This was seen in the controversial practicum case in 1991
involving Spanish fishermen exercising their rights of freedom of establishment under EU law
This enabled them to take advantage of the British fishing quota. Where there was a conflict with EU law, the courts had to apply EU law and not the UK statute
The UK is no longer a member of the EU and therefore Parliament has taken back sovereignty
Westminster Parliament has devolved powers to the Scottish Parliament, Parliament Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly
Devolution has resulted in quasi-federalism, whereby some powers have been retained by Westminster and other matters have been devolved
This gives them the power to make certain laws without Westminster's approval
For example, Scotland reduced the voting age to 16 in 2015 and abolished tuition fees for university students in 2008
Ultimately Parliament has sovereignty. Parliament can block proposed legislation. The Salford Convention is not written in the Constitution
and can be departed from without legal effect. Parliament can dismiss a government by passing a vote of no confidence
as was seen in 1979 when James Callaghan's Labour government was removed prematurely from office
after a vote was called by Fletcher. R. Miller, EU Secretary of State for exiting the EU 2016
demonstrated that Theresa May could not trigger Article 50 without the approval of Parliament
It can remove powers from the Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies
It has reserved powers which can only be exercised by Westminster. Parliament may withdraw any powers that have been delegated to government ministers or local authorities
In summary, parliamentary sovereignty relates to Parliament having ultimate power. Whilst there are some constraints and limitations on Parliament's power
Parliament still retains ultimate power. Citizens' rights are therefore at the mercy of Parliament
and the courts are powerless to uphold individuals' rights against Parliament. This video is part of a series of videos on law from www.elawresources.co.uk
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