Parliamentary sovereignty

Overview

Parliamentary sovereignty and doctrine of implied repeal.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

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1. 1

   Define parliamentary sovereignty.

   Model answer

   Parliamentary sovereignty means that Parliament is the supreme law making body in the United Kingdom. Nobody else can override or set aside an Act of Parliament.

2. 2

   State Dicey's three elements of parliamentary sovereignty.

   Model answer

   Dicey said Parliament can make or unmake any law whatever. Dicey added that no Parliament can bind its successors and that no body can question the validity of an Act.

3. 3

   What did Pickin v British Railways Board [1974] decide?

   Model answer

   Pickin v British Railways Board [1974] held that a court cannot investigate the way an Act was passed. The House of Lords said the courts must apply any Act that appears properly on the parliamentary roll.

4. 4

   What is the doctrine of implied repeal?

   Model answer

   Implied repeal means that a later Act prevails over an earlier Act that contradicts it. The earlier provision falls away even though the later Act says nothing about repealing it.

5. 5

   What did Ellen Street Estates v Minister of Health [1934] establish?

   Model answer

   Ellen Street Estates v Minister of Health [1934] confirmed that Parliament cannot bind a future Parliament. The Court of Appeal held that a later statute impliedly repealed the earlier inconsistent one.

6. 6

   What did Vauxhall Estates v Liverpool Corporation [1932] decide?

   Model answer

   Vauxhall Estates v Liverpool Corporation [1932] held that an earlier Act cannot prevent a later Act from repealing it. The compensation provisions of the earlier statute gave way to the later ones.

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