INTRODUCTION
The parliament of England is the mother of all other parliaments. The King/Crown, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons constitute parliament. Parliamentary sovereignty means the supremacy of parliament, i.e. parliament can pass, amend or repeal laws to any extent, and there are no fundamental laws with which Parliament cannot interfere.
DEFINITION OF SOVEREIGNTY
According to Black’s Law Dictionary:
Sovereignty is “the supreme, absolute, and uncontrollable power by which any independent state is governed is called sovereignty.”
DEFINITION OF PARLIAMENT
According to Wade and Phillips:
“Parliament consists of the King, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. These three bodies acting together are often described as the King in parliament and constitute parliament.”
SOVEREIGNTY OF PARLIAMENT
The sovereignty of Parliament is defined as follows;
“The sovereignty of parliament means that no court in Britain can declare any law or act of parliament invalid and unconstitutional.”
ORIGIN OF PARLIAMENTARY SOVEREIGNTY
In 1688, the supremacy of parliament over the Crown was established. From this time, the prerogative powers of the Crown continued in existence or were abolished or curtailed by parliament determined. The Crown may claim no new prerogative powers.
EXAMPLE OF PARLIAMENTARY SOVEREIGNTY:
The examples of the Supremacy of Parliament are the following.
1. Bill of Rights, 1689:
Provisions of the bill sought to secure the privileges of parliament. Some of the main requirements are:
(a) The king’s power to suspend laws without parliament’s permission is illegal.
(b) Election of members of parliament ought to be free.
2. Act of Settlement, 1701:
Under this Act, the King holds his office, and accession to the throne can be changed.
3. Act of Union with Scotland, 1707 and Ireland, 1800:
By passing these two Acts, parliament made Scotland and Ireland parts of the UK.
4. Septennial Act, 1718:
It extended the life of the existing parliament, which was elected for 3threeyears, but also prolonged its life by 4fouryears.
5. Parliament Act, 1911:
All legislative powers relating to a money bill were taken away from the House of Lords by this Act, and the term of parliament was fixed at five years instead of 7 years.
6. Statutes of West Minister, 1931:
Under this Act, the dominion legislatures were granted full legislative authority.
7. Acts of Indemnity:
It is called the statutes of illegalities, which legalizes the acts of a person which, when committed, were illegal and frees them from liability arising out of breach of law.
LIMITATIONS ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF PARLIAMENT
Parliament is the supreme legislative body in England. Its operations are subject to certain limitations. These limitations refer to the negative side of parliamentary sovereignty. There are two types, which are as follows:
(A) Assumed/Supposed Limitations
(B) Real or Actual Limitations
(A) ASSUMED/SUPPOSED LIMITATIONS:
1. Moral Law:
Any act of parliament is invalid if opposed to the spirit of morality in international law.
2. Royal Prerogatives:
The executive is left alone to make its own rules in the interests of the efficiency of administration in any field. The executive is supreme as regards the exercise of prerogative that the Crown suspends the operation of statutes and grants dispensation from obedience to them.
3. Act of Previous Parliament:
The acts of the previous parliament were respected and not quickly repealed.
(B) REAL OR ACTUAL LIMITATIONS:
There are certain limitations on the sovereignty of parliament, which show, in a certain sense, that the working of parliament is restricted. These limitations may be external or internal.
(a) Internal Limitation:
The internal check comes from the nature of the sovereign power itself. The members of parliament are from amongst the people duly elected by them. They are well aware of people’s wishes and would not make laws against their nature.
(b) External Limitation:
1. International Law:
Parliament ordinarily does not intend to violate the principles of international law.
2. Press and Public Opinion:
Press and public opinion are essential checks on parliamentary sovereignty. An act against the people’s wishes may result in a resolution or military defence and defeat the party in power controlling the parliament.
No parliament dares pass a law that the press or public opinion opposes. So, the parliament has to bow before the verdict of the people.
3. Judicial Interpretations
Courts protect against interference with personal liberty, taking away private property without compensation, and depriving a subject of the right of access to courts.
4. Leagues & Association:
Leagues and associations formed for political and economic purposes must be consulted by parliament before passing effect on them, and it is impossible to ignore those associations.
5. Statute of West Minister, 1931:
It limited the sovereignty of the parliament. The Dominion Constitution cannot be altered or amended by parliament except with the consent of dominions.
6. Rule of Law:
If parliament passes a law that is contrary to the rule of law, it imperils its supremacy
7. Delegated Legislation:
It gives powers to make laws to authorities other than parliament and hence limits the supremacy of parliament.
8. Political Sovereignty:
Parliament cannot act against the people’s wishes, for the ultimate rule of England is the people of England.
CONCLUSION
The British parliament is sovereign from a legal point of view. Yet, it has to work under political sovereignty and cannot violate moral principles, religions, beliefs, customs, traditions, etc.
FAQs
What do you understand by the phrase “Supremacy of British of British Parliament“? Refer to the historical instances which reflect that British has a legislative Supremacy and enumerate the practical limitations on the “Supremacy parliament” in the present scenario.
(2019-A, 2019-A five years)
Discuss the principle of the “Supremacy of the British Parliament” and highlight the factors which restrain the legislative supremacy of the British Parliament.
(2019-A five years)
Explain the concept of Supremacy of the British Parliament. Do you think that the British Parliament has absolute legislative supremacy? Give the reasons for and against this statement.
(2017-S) (2016-S)
Examine the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty in England. Discuss the supremacy of the British parliament with the help of historical examples. Do you think the British Parliament is absolute concerning legislative enactments? Support your answer with solid arguments.
(2015-S, 2015-A)
