The Principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty in Europe

The Principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty in Europe

The concept of Parliamentary Sovereignty means Parliament has the

supreme legal authority in the UK. It is not subject to any legal

limitation within the UK as there is no overriding written

constitution against which the validity of Parliament’s enactments may

be tested. It cannot be bound by its predecessors and may amend or

repeal any previous enactments. Parliament alone can make or

dissolve any law, it can pass Acts of Indemnity and can also render

retrospective legislation illegal and impose penalties on actions

which were perfectly lawful when they were committed.

The European Union grew from the European Economic Community, which

was created by the Treaty of Rome 1957. It’s objectives included the

development of economic activities and raising the standard of living.

In l972, the UK signed the Brussels Treaty of Accession to join the

European Union and this Treaty was brought into force by Act of

Parliament.

The EU position dictates that EU Law takes precedence over UK

Lawagreement. However, this is problematic for the constitutional

principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty but if the objectives of the

community are to be achieved then this is essential. This had been

made abundantly clear well before the United Kingdoms commitment to

the Union.

The European Union functions through four principal interlinking

institutions, each with its own individual role. The central decision

making body in the union is the Council of Ministers which, consists

of Ministers specialising in specific particular areas such as

agriculture. No directive can be issued, or ...

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...described as a mere

illusion because it is limited to certain fields such as trade and

agriculture, the EU is not concerned with other aspects of UK law such

as family and health. Parliament remains sovereign in more domestic

areas.

Parliament may abolish any of the devolved legislatives at it

pleasure. The European and British courts have the authority to

declare incompatibility or to annul a law only because of an Act of

Parliament. Thus, theoretically, Parliament remains almost entirely

sovereign.There is a concept in political science of legal and

political sovereignty. It can be argued that legal sovereignty has not

been lost, because Parliament still retains all its theoretical

powers. However, as it is highly unlikely that the UK would repeal the

European Communities Act and leave the European Union.