Parliamentary sovereignty is the organising principle of the UK constitution: it tells you who has the final word on what the law is. For a solicitor, this is the bedrock you stand on every time you advise on legislation — it explains why an Act of Parliament beats the common law, the prerogative, an international treaty or a clashing earlier statute, and what a court can and cannot do when an Act causes a problem. Get this right and the rest of public law falls into place.
Here's what we'll cover, in order:
- Fundamental Principles — what sovereignty means and its relationship with the courts.
- Supremacy of Acts of Parliament — where statute sits above every other source of law.
- Validity and Enactment — what makes a valid Act and why courts won't look behind it.
- Binding Successors and Implied Repeal — why no Parliament can tie the hands of the next.
- The Human Rights Act 1998 — how rights protection coexists with sovereignty.
- Devolution — why Westminster keeps ultimate authority.
- Judicial Protection of Fundamental Rights — the interpretive tools courts use.
- Parliamentary Privilege — protecting Parliament's functions from interference.
- EU Law After Brexit — what changed when supremacy ended.
- Limits on Sovereignty — the practical and political brakes that really bite.