Explain the idea and function of Parliamentary Sovereignty in the UK Constitution

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Public Law 1 – LW588 – Leon Taylor

Explain the idea and function of Parliamentary Sovereignty in the UK Constitution

The sovereignty of Parliament is the dominant characteristic of our political institutions which consists of the King, House of Lords and House of Commons acting together. (This was said a long time ago, so, if adjusted today, the word King would be replaced with Queen and the meaning would still apply). By acting together, I mean, acts have to pass with consent from the Commons, Lords and the Queen. Parliament has the right to make or on unmake any law; it is the most important part of the UK constitution.  Also, no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament. It can be said then, that the sovereignty of Parliament is the fundamental doctrine of English constitutionalists 

From its positive side, the principal of Parliamentary Sovereignty may be described as, “Any act of Parliament, or any part of an act of Parliament, which makes a new law, or repeals or modifies an existing law, will be obeyed by the Courts”. Looked at from its negative side, “There is no person or body of persons who can, under the English constitution, make rules which override or derogate from an act of Parliament, or which will be enforced by the courts in convention of an act of parliament. 

Sometimes people refer to the UK as having an unwritten constitution, this isn’t strictly true. Unlike America or Germany we do not have a single text written down in one big text, however, large parts of it are written down. A large amount of this is made up of laws passed in Parliament, this is known as statute law. As we do not have a single written constitution it is said that we have a wholly un-codified or partly written constitution.

Although we have a Supreme Court filled with the most senior and respected judges of the UK they cannot tell Parliament what to do. This may seem a little strange to some but this is how it is.

The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty is regarding the relationship between those create the acts and those who apply them, raising the question of which infact has supreme power. Parliament is the highest source of law and if a law has been passed according to Parliament’s rules, it is valid law and must be applied by the courts, even if it is unfair or unjust. 


With reference to the Human Rights Act and the obligations that it imposes, what limits does the Act place on public bodies and Parliament?

The Human Rights Act 1988 came into force in the United Kingdom in October 2000. All public bodies (such as courts, police, local governments, hospitals, publicly funded schools) and other bodies carrying out public functions have to comply with the Convention rights. 

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Under section 6(3)(b) of the Human Rights Act 1998 a public authority is obliged to act compatibly with Convention rights under section  6(1) of that act.

Regarding the limits placed on public bodies, here are a few examples of what is expected by them.

If a public authority such as a prison or a nursing home undertakes the care of a person they must take appropriate steps to ensure that the person is safe. If a death occurs due to the use of force used by a public authority, then there should be an effective official investigation. This duty to ...

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