The Afterlife of Parliamentary Sovereignty

Abstract

The paper discusses the nature of Parliamentary sovereignty. Beginning by reflecting on the understandings of sovereignty that were present before 1991, the paper argues that the rule was abandoned in the pivotal case of Factortame. Nevertheless, Parliamentary sovereignty has enjoyed an afterlife. Though no longer part of the United Kingdom’s Constitution, it still continues to attract the attentions of scholars, who, knowingly or unknowingly, apply the label to new constitutional phenomena. The paper concludes by reflecting on the problems this can cause.

Keywords: Parliamentary Sovereignty