2. The Legislative Sovereignty of Parliament

Abstract

Extracts have been chosen from a wide range of historical and contemporary cases to illustrate the reasoning processes of the courts and to show how legal principles are developed. This chapter deals with the doctrine of the legislative sovereignty of Parliament. First, the nature of parliamentary sovereignty is considered. The question of whether Parliament can limit the powers of its successors is then discussed, with the chapter finally considering a range of modern challenges to the sovereignty of Parliament, including EU membership, human rights, the decision of the House of Lords in Jackson (and related subsequent case law), and the European Union Act 2011