Parliamentary supremacy has had its day.

The first 200 words of this essay...

The origins of Parliamentary Supremacy are found in the 17th century, in particular the enactment of The Bill of Rights, 1689. This is, according to Dicey "the very keystone of the law of the constitution."1 Prior to this it was within a courts jurisdiction to challenge the validity of an Act of parliament, such as in Dr Bonham's case, 1610.2 Therefore it would appear that any subsequent upset of this well-established doctrine would prove to be extremely damaging. The occurrence of Parliamentary supremacy is largely due to the lack of a written constitution in the United Kingdom, as written constitutions provide certain entrenchments (such as in the case of Germany) regarding limitations of scope for creating legislation. European community law, by virtue of the European Communities Act 1972, now has direct applicability in the United Kingdom. Subsequently, where there is any conflict between an Act of parliament and community law, the later takes precedence. In other words, Parliament is no longer the sovereign law making authority; it must instead adhere to Community law, in theory forfeiting its sovereignty. However due to the courts only enforcing Acts of parliament, not treaties such as the Treaty of Rome, it can be argued that