What Is Parliamentary Sovereignty?
Parliament is the only body which can make laws in the UK, and is therefore sovereign. No other authority can overrule or change the laws which parliament has made. Political commentators often say that parliament can do “what the hell it likes” in terms of law making. This generally means that the government of the day can pass legislation easily through parliament as long as it has a strong, supportive majority in the House of Commons. In Britain, therefore, statute law has precedence over the other sources of the unwritten constitution. However, the principle if parliamentary sovereignty cannot be found in any Act of Parliament. It is a part of common law which established itself as judicial rule in the late 17th century, following the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1608. Parliamentary sovereignty implies that parliament can pass, adopt or repeal any law it likes and it is not bound by any other previous parliaments’ laws.
