Impact of EU membership on parliamentary sovereignty

Question 1

As seen in cases such as Mortensen v Peters, domestic law has a higher status in the UK legal system, because this is created by the sovereign Parliament.

If the Parliament therefore wishes international systems or sets of standards to be enforced, how can it do this?

Answer 1

incorporation of this body of external law into the UK legal system by [assign statute

e.g. the passing of the European Communities Act (‘ECA’, section 2(1) of which incorporated EU law in the UK’s own legal system.

e.g. HRA

Question 2

How did the doctrine of implied repeal operate to pre-European Communities Act 1972?

Answer 2

pre-1972 statutes, which were incompatible with EU law, would be overridden by the ECA itself, thereby satisfying both the demands of EU law and those of parliamentary sovereignty.

note: only applies to ‘ordinary statutes’ not constitutional ones

Question 3

What was the effect of the Factor tame principle?

Answer 3

• The courts could now suspend an Act of Parliament where they were required to do so by EU law.
• I.e. EU law could override or ‘disapply’ conflicting UK statutes enacted after 1972

Thus, in enacting the European Communities Act 1972 Parliament had ‘voluntarily’ signed up to a ‘limitation’ on its own sovereignty.

The supremacy within the European Community of Community law over the national law of member states was well established in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice long before the United Kingdom joined the Community.

Question 4

Post-Brexit, how can retained EU law be amended?