Parliament Sovereignty

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Theoretically, parliament can do anything besides binding its successors, for example Proffessor Sir Ivor Jennings stated that the uk parliament could pass a law making smoking in the streets of paris illegal if wished to do so. However, this type of law would obviously not be enforced by French authorities, even though it would still be valid parliamentary act in the eyes of the English courts. Besides hypothetical examples of what parliament can do, there are some real examples, this includes disestablishing the church of Ireland, granting independence to many former colonys, as well as enacting laws in which have a retrospective effect. Parliament also provided the holding of the EU Referendum, which took place on the 23rd June 2016.
The …show more content…
Usually, the courts cannot exercise authority by overruling legislation and no parliament can pass laws that future parliaments cannot change.
Sovereignty in parliament is probably one of the most important areas of UK constitution as it is perfectly described as ‘partly written and wholly unmodified.’ It is about the relationship between the parliament and courts. Dicey puts forward that parliament is supreme, meaning that ‘Parliament has, under the English constitution, the right to make or unmake any law whatever; and further that no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of …show more content…
A.V. Dicey describes it as ‘the dominant characteristic of our political institutions', ‘the very keystone of the law of constitution'. Historically, the principle of a supreme Parliament as outlined by A.V. Dicey has been viewed as a pillar of the British constitution. Dicey illustrated three key principles on which the Parliamentary power can be based: 'Parliament can make or unmake any law; Parliament can't tie its successors nor be bound by ancestors; and that no individual or body is perceived by the law as having the privilege to abrogate or put aside the authoritative expert of Parliament.' The level to which the present political system adhere to Dicey's standards is a measure of the disintegration of Parliamentary supremacy.
In support of parliamentary supremacy we could say that because of its representativeness, the decisions made by Parliament are a direct reflection of the collective knowledge in society, making it the ultimate authority by preference. If Parliaments authority was limited and not deemed supreme, Parliament would not be able to take extraordinary procedures in cases of emergency. An example of this would be how parliament can validate any titles by passing an indemnity
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