Public Law - Parliamentary Supremacy
The constitutional role of Parliament
Constitutionally relevant Acts:
- Bill of Rights 1689
- Article 9 - freedom of speech, so that debates and Parliamentary
proceedings cannot be impeached or questioned in any Court or place
outside Parliament
- Codified the constitutional convention of Parliamentary supremacy
- Meeting of Parliament Act 1694
- Parliament must be summoned every 3 yrs (in reality it meets throughout
the year)
- Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
- 1911 - removed HoL veto on legislation and replaced it with an ability to
delay by max 2 yrs, after which legislation could be enacted without HoL
consent
- 1949 - delay became max 1yr
- Reduced HoL powers so that a bill can become an Act of Parliament even
if rejected by HoL
- Life Peerages Act 1958
- 2 types of Lords in HoL:
- Lords Temporal - life peers created under the Act + up to 92
hereditary peers
- Lords Spiritual - senior clergy of the Church of England
- House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975
- Limited the number of ministers in HoC to 95
- Acts as a check to executive (gov’t) power over the legislature
- Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
- Fixed polling days - every 5 yrs
- Can have early election with ⅔ HoC majority
- Repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022
- Devolution Acts
, - Scotland Acts 1998, 2012, 2016
- Northern Ireland Act 1998
- Government of Wales Act 1998
Bill stages:
- 1) First reading
- 2) Second reading
- Main HoC debate
- 3) Committee stage
- 4) Report stage
- House votes on amendments (if any)
- 4) Third Reading
- 5) HoL reading
- 6) Bill sent back to HoC for considerations if HoL makes any changes
- If HoL disproves of legislation passed by the HoC, it cannot veto but can
delay for max 1yr (Parliament Act 1949)
- 7) Royal Assent
- Becomes an Act of Parliament
Parliamentary Supremacy/Sovereignty of Parliament
- AV Dicey definition:
- In summary, Dicey believed there are no limits on Parliamentary
supremacy
- AKA the traditional view
- 1) there is no legal restraint on P’s law-making powers
- P can legislate on any matter it likes - has freedom to make/repeal
laws of any kind
- See implied repeal below
- 2) No other person/body within the constitution is able to question
the validity of primary legislation
- No-one outside P can override/question its laws
- No P is bound by a predecessor or may bind a successor
- See manner and form theory below
- No Act can have a higher status than another
- Recent common law opposition suggests there are higher
‘constitutional’ Acts - as per Lord Hope’s obiter in H v Lord
Advocate; also Laws LJ in Thoburn (approved in Miller)
The constitutional role of Parliament
Constitutionally relevant Acts:
- Bill of Rights 1689
- Article 9 - freedom of speech, so that debates and Parliamentary
proceedings cannot be impeached or questioned in any Court or place
outside Parliament
- Codified the constitutional convention of Parliamentary supremacy
- Meeting of Parliament Act 1694
- Parliament must be summoned every 3 yrs (in reality it meets throughout
the year)
- Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
- 1911 - removed HoL veto on legislation and replaced it with an ability to
delay by max 2 yrs, after which legislation could be enacted without HoL
consent
- 1949 - delay became max 1yr
- Reduced HoL powers so that a bill can become an Act of Parliament even
if rejected by HoL
- Life Peerages Act 1958
- 2 types of Lords in HoL:
- Lords Temporal - life peers created under the Act + up to 92
hereditary peers
- Lords Spiritual - senior clergy of the Church of England
- House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975
- Limited the number of ministers in HoC to 95
- Acts as a check to executive (gov’t) power over the legislature
- Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
- Fixed polling days - every 5 yrs
- Can have early election with ⅔ HoC majority
- Repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022
- Devolution Acts
, - Scotland Acts 1998, 2012, 2016
- Northern Ireland Act 1998
- Government of Wales Act 1998
Bill stages:
- 1) First reading
- 2) Second reading
- Main HoC debate
- 3) Committee stage
- 4) Report stage
- House votes on amendments (if any)
- 4) Third Reading
- 5) HoL reading
- 6) Bill sent back to HoC for considerations if HoL makes any changes
- If HoL disproves of legislation passed by the HoC, it cannot veto but can
delay for max 1yr (Parliament Act 1949)
- 7) Royal Assent
- Becomes an Act of Parliament
Parliamentary Supremacy/Sovereignty of Parliament
- AV Dicey definition:
- In summary, Dicey believed there are no limits on Parliamentary
supremacy
- AKA the traditional view
- 1) there is no legal restraint on P’s law-making powers
- P can legislate on any matter it likes - has freedom to make/repeal
laws of any kind
- See implied repeal below
- 2) No other person/body within the constitution is able to question
the validity of primary legislation
- No-one outside P can override/question its laws
- No P is bound by a predecessor or may bind a successor
- See manner and form theory below
- No Act can have a higher status than another
- Recent common law opposition suggests there are higher
‘constitutional’ Acts - as per Lord Hope’s obiter in H v Lord
Advocate; also Laws LJ in Thoburn (approved in Miller)
