Parliamentary Sovereignty

Question 1

What does it mean by Parliamentary Sovereignty over other forms of law in England and Wales? (4)

Answer 1

This means that an Act of Parliament can completely overrule
 any custom
judicial precedent
delegated legislation 
previous Acts of Parliament

Question 2

What is parliamentary sovereignty also referred to as?

Answer 2

parliament supremacy

Question 3

what is the concept of the sovereignty of parliamentary law based on?

Answer 3

based on the idea of democratic law-making

Question 4

Why is it a simplistic view thinking that MP’s participate in the legislative process on behalf of those voters in their constituency ? (3)

Answer 4

• MP’s usually vote on party lines
• many MP’s are elected by only a small majority, c30% or even fewer
• Parliamentary elections only have to take place once every 5 years so that an MP who votes against the wishes of their constituents is not immediately replaced

Question 5

Who drafts most of the parliamentary law and why is this undemocratic?

Answer 5

civil servants who are not elected

Question 6

What does 19th century A.V Dicey define parliamentary supremacy as?

Answer 6

1. Parliament can legislate on any subject matter
2. No Parliament can be bound by an previous Parliament, nor can a Parliament pass any Act that will bind a later Parliament
3. No other body has the right to overrule or set aside an Act of Parliament

Question 7

What does A.V Dicey mean about legislating on any subject matter?

Answer 7

Parliament can make any laws

Question 8

What is an example of Parliament legislating on any subject matter?

Answer 8

Parliament has changed the rule on who should succeed the throne in 1700 through the Act of Settlement where they stated King James 11 children not succeed to the throne

Question 9

What are examples of Parliament legislating on any subject matter regarding changing its own powers?

Answer 9

-Parliament Act 1911&1949 which limits the rights of the HOL to block a Bill by voting against it

Question 10

What does A.V Dicey mean by Parliament cannot bind their successor?

Answer 10

Each new Parliament should be free to make or change what laws it wishes. Cannot be bound by a previous Parliament and can repeal any previous Acts of Parliament

Question 11

What laws have become such an important part of the British Constitution that they cannot realistically be appealed?

Answer 11

the Act of Settlement in 1700 changed the line of succession to the throne affecting who was to become king or queen, after 300 years this cannot be re-appealed

Question 12

What does A.V Dicey mean by Parliament cannot be overruled by others?

Answer 12

Parliament can completely overrule any custom, judicial precedent, delegated legislation, or previous Acts of Parliament

Question 13

Which case shows that Parliament cannot be overruled by others even if the Act was passed because of incorrect information?

Answer 13

British Railways Board v Pickin 1974

Question 14

What happened in British Railway Borad v Pickin 1974?

Answer 14

Pickin challenged a private Act of Parliament (British Railways Act 1968) on the bass that the British Railways Board had fraudulently concealed certain matters from Parliament . An Act was passed which had an effect of depriving Pickin of his land and proprietary rights. A challenge could not be made to an Act of Parliament even and so the the action was stuck.

Question 15

What are the 2 main limitations of Parliament’s sovereignty which have been self-inflcted by previous Parliaments?

Answer 15

• membership of the EU

- effect of the Human Rights Act 1998

Question 16

When did the UK join the EU?

Answer 16

1973

Question 17

In order to become a member of the EU, what act did Parliament pass?

Answer 17

European Communities Act 1972

Question 18

What does membership of the EU mean for UK law?

Answer 18

EU law takes priority even where the English law was passed after the relevant EU law

Question 19

What case shows that EU law takes precedent over UK law even if the English law was passed after the relevant EU law ?

Answer 19

Merchant Shipping Act 1988

Question 20

What happened in the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 ?

Answer 20

Act stated 75% of directors and shareholders had to be British. ECJ ruled that this was contrary to European Union Law under which all citizens of all member states can work in other member states

Question 21

What does the Human Rights Act 1998 state ?

Answer 21

that all Acts of Parliament have to be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights

Question 22

What section of the Human Rights Act gives the courts the power to declare an Act incompatible with the Convention?

Answer 22

s.4 of the Human Rights Act 1998

Question 23

Which case was the first to challenge an Act of Parliament over s.4 of the Human Rights Act 1998

Answer 23

H v Mental Health Review Tribunal 2001

Question 24

What happened in H v MHRT 2001?

mental health review tribunal

Answer 24

a patient under the Mental Health Act 1983 was placed with the burden of proof to show that he should be released. The court declared this was incompatible with human rights . Government changed the law