Constitutional and Administrative Law: UK Parliament and Law Breaches

This essay delves into the intricacies of UK constitutional and administrative law, focusing on the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. It examines the extent of the Parliament's law-making powers, including its ability to pass bills that may breach existing laws, and the limited role of the courts i...Read More

Constitutional and
Administrative Law

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TASK1.............................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
Introduction............................................................................................................................5
Main Body..............................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................................................................................11

TASK1
This task focuses on the question, which states about the rights of the Parliament in UK
in respect to passing of the law. This question can be said to be very relevant from the
constitutional terms as it demonstrate the issue which might come across and what will be the
position of the government under such situation.
As given, UK government decided to put the bill before the parliament and if the bill is
passed it will result into breaching of law. It is stated that the Parliament will pass the bill which
is because of the reason that parliament is sovereign. For discussing this case, it is important to
understand the authority of parliament. Parliament sovereignty is the main and foremost
principle of UK constitution1. According to which the Parliament is the supreme legal authority
in the country having the power to create and remove any law. Along with that, the court cannot
make or overrule its legislation and also no Parliament can enact any law which cannot be
changed by the future Parliament. In the past few years, the Parliament has also passed certain
bills which has resulted in limiting the power or application of the parliament sovereignty. These
laws have caused political changes in and out of the UK. But it is to be carefully understood that
these developments will not fundamentally affect or lower the principle of Parliament
sovereignty.
The most important part of this principle is that parliament can at anytime repeal or
demolish any of the law which has caused these changes. By applying this rule in the given
question, it can be said that Parliament can pass such bills which might have an impact of
breaching of the law and along with that the court has no power to uphold such legislation. This
is because, the Parliament has the authority to implement any law and the court of the country
cannot question the same or any other Act of the Parliament2. The court has to comply with what
the Parliament intends. The UK Parliament has unlimited power and it can assess or legislate it
whenever it deems fit. The court is required to comply and give effect to the recently released
laws or the bills. Based upon this, the Parliament can implement any type of legislation which it
1 McCorkindale, Christopher. "Parliament, sovereignty and the paradox of the political
constitution." In The Constitution of Social Democracy. 2020.
2 SHEVCHENKO, M. "THE PARLIAMENTARY SOVEREIGNTY AND THE RULE
OF LAW IN THE UK LAW." In We speak Legal English, German, French, Spanish…,
pp. 174-175. 2019.

considers right and no other government authority has the right to question it or rule it as invalid,
even if the Act will lead to breach of the any of the existing laws and causing any negative
impact on the economy.
For addressing this question in Task 2, a proper structure will be followed which will
include all the legal laws and regulation pertaining to the situation presented and justifying the
answer based on the same along with proper referencing. It is will be presented in essay
formatting highlighting the key aspects of the question and then discussing it with the law
relevant to it.
Constructing the mind map of the issues present in the question
Parliament Sovereign
Power to pass bill Breach of Law
Inability of the court in raising
any question

TASK 2
Introduction
Each country has its own rules and regulations which are governed or monitored by the
one central body. These laws are enforced with the core purpose of regulating the functioning of
the country. In UK, Parliamentary sovereignty principle is being followed which is the main
authority having power to implement the laws. This essay states about the constitution and the
administrative law which is prevailing in UK in respect to the situation provided in the question
and critically discussing the same. It also covers the application of various legal laws and
regulations for the purpose of justifying the same.
Main Body
The people refers to this Parliamentary sovereignty as an unwritten constitution which is
not completely right. It is not written in a single text but is provided in the large parts and most
of the laws are passed in Parliament which is called as the statute law. Thus, the constitution of
United Kingdom is sometimes also described as the “partly written and completely codified”
which simply means that the UK do not have one single in writing constitution3. This principle is
a multifaceted which involves the various concurrent powers which are most of the time in
conflict or in tension with each other4. The Parliamentary sovereignty is separate from the
constitution of UK even though both are linked to the common matters. In accordance with this
principle, the Parliament of UK has the full power to create and enforce any of the law other than
the laws which can bound the future successors5. The Parliament has issued certain laws which
has put a limitation on the application of the Parliamentary sovereignty. This includes demolition
of the Scottish Parliament, UK's entry to EU, decision in respect to building up the UK's supreme
court and this has resulted into closing or removal of the House of Lords role in the court of
appeal.
In accordance with the issue provided in the question, which states that if the UK
government makes a decision of putting the bill in the Parliament along with the expected
3 Young, A. "M Gordon: Parliamentary sovereignty in the UK constitution." Public
Law 2016 (2016).
4 Kelly, David. The English Legal System: 2015-2016. Routledge, 2015
5 Oliver, Peter. "Parliamentary Sovereignty, Federalism and the Commonwealth." The
United Kingdom and the Federal Idea (Hart Publishing, 2018) pp: 49-72.

consequence of that bill like breach of the law, then too, the Parliament can pass the bill this is
because of its authority as it is sovereign6. The model of Manner and Form theory defines that
the parliament will always remain sovereign and therefore, it cannot put a limitation on its
power. Along with it, the court is required to instantly give effect to the changes which are being
made most recently by the Act of Parliament's will. The major point of this model is that the
Parliament can create rules and regulation in regard to how it is going to develop laws in the
coming years7. Along with that, Parliament can make its complex or even tough in respect to
making any amendments in the laws or even repealing it. But, on the other hand, it cannot turn
this out to be impossible on account of making changes in the law or repealing it. Under this, all
the laws are considered equal and are given equal authority and also stands that no Act is greater
than other. By setting these conditions, which are required to be abide by the coming up
Parliament or the future Parliament. It can be defined in reference to the case law of Thoburn v
Sunderland City Council [2002] EWHC 195, Laws LJ, in which it is stated that the Parliament
cannot hold or force the future parliament through the way of stipulating the repeal along with
that it cannot stipulate the implied repeal and being the sovereign body it cannot go against its
sovereignity. This was supported by the court of Appeal in the McWhirter v Secretary of State
for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2003] EWCA Civ 384.
In addition to the above, the question in respect to the courts upholding the any limits
over the Parliament, it can be stated that of the Parliament has to remain supreme then the court
has no power in regard to limiting its power or enforcing any rule over it8. In the current political
situation of the UK, the court has taken certain role of controlling the Parliament to some extent
which can be seen in the case law of R(Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European
6 McConalogue, Jim. "Parliamentary Sovereignty, the Precedent of the Mixed
Constitutional Model and the UK’s Membership of the EU." In The British Constitution
Resettled, pp. 113-149. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020.
7 Ekins, Richard. "Parliamentary Sovereignty and the Politics of Prorogation." Policy
Exchange 16 (2019).
8 Masterman, Roger, and Se-shauna Wheatle. "Unpacking separation of powers: judicial
independence, sovereignty and conceptual flexibility in the UK constitution." Public
law.2017, no. Jul (2017): 469-487.

Union [2017]9. Along with that, the role of court of also changing and therefore, does not
explicitly explain the current adaptability of the Parliament. On making an application of the
above stated laws and regulation on the current situation given in the question, it can be said that
Parliament in order to remain sovereign and supreme then it cannot limits its power and along
with the same, the court cannot exercise or raise a question on the law imposed by the Parliament
and therefore, resulting into making the Act of Parliament supreme. Therefore, as per the case
given, if the parliament passes the bill even though it is aware about its consequences then the
Act of Parliament cannot to put on hold or disagreed by anyone and even the court hails to
uphold the decision or the law and making it invalid.
Conclusion
It can be inferred from the above that the principle of the UK constitution which is the
Parliamentary sovereignty is the central point in respect to the functioning of the UK's
constitution. It defines the absolute and the unlimited power of the Parliament. This defines the
level of authority which can be exercised by Parliament along with any type of law which cannot
be passed by it. After discussing the law pertaining to it along with case law for getting further
insight into the situation, it can be concluded that the Parliament can pass any of the law in
whatever aspect it wants to and the court is required to obey the same without any issue. Also,
the future parliament can make changes to it if it wants but the court cannot take any action as it
is out of its authority.
TASK 3
On 9th September 2020, the UK government issued a proposal in respect to the internal
market bill after which the Vice president Maros Sefcovic called a meeting of the EU and UK
joint Committee with the purpose of requesting the government of UK to make clear of its
intention and responding to the EU's issues. The main objective for passing the WA was to copy
the European law into the domestic law till the extent it was operative in nature in UK before its
exist from EU. This has created a complex situation for both the nations.
The VP stated that the timely implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement which the
PM Boris Johnson agreed to and ratified by the Houses of Parliament is a legal obligation.
Violating the terms of Withdrawal Agreement (WA) will result into breaking of the international
9 Carroll, Alex. Constitutional and administrative law. Pearson Education, 2003

law and put at stake the future relationship between the two10. The Agreement has a legal effect
over the international law. The protocol on Ireland is an important aspect of the Agreement
which is aimed at maintaining peace, stability on the island which happened because of the
complex negotiation between the two, UK and EU. It has been stated by the VP that if the bill is
passed it will result into a serious violation of the Withdrawal agreement along with the
international law. In case it is adopted, it will be a clear breach of the substantive provisions
stated under the article 5(3) & (4) along with the custom legislation article 10 and other things
would be the direct effect of this WA11. Apart from this, the UK government would also be
violating the good faith obligation as the bill jeopardizes the objectives defined in the agreement.
The EU does not go with the argument stating that main aim of this bill is to protect the
Good Fridays Agreement but it says that it is completely opposite of it. Along with that, EU also
argued with the UK government that this WA involves certain mechanisms and the remedies in
order to address the violations pertaining to the legal obligations which the EU can make use of
and will not think twice12. So as of 31 October 2020, the UK negotiates an agreement with the
European Union which will be finalized till 31 Oct 2020 for sufficiently implementing the same
and putting the new arrangement in place on the base that the Brexit transition will end as on 31
December 2020. in case of UK fails to agree with the future trade deals and id crashes out at the
transition date then it must revert to the trading agreement with the European Union based on the
terms specified by WTO. The new president of the European commission has made her
reservations very much clear which surrounds the Boris Johnson's plan in regard to concluding
the negotiations which will state the relationship among EU and UK to be done by the end of the
year 2020.
10 Cremona, Marise. "The Withdrawal Agreement and the EU’s International
Agreements." European law review 2 (2020): 237-250.
11 Ryan, Mark, and Steve Foster. Unlocking Constitutional & Administrative Law. Routledge,
2013
12 SPAVENTA, ELEANOR. "The rights of citizens under the Withdrawal Agreement: a
critical analysis." (2020): 193-206.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cremona, Marise. "The Withdrawal Agreement and the EU’s International
Agreements." European law review 2 (2020): 237-250.
Ekins, Richard. "Parliamentary Sovereignty and the Politics of Prorogation." Policy Exchange 16
(2019).
Masterman, Roger, and Se-shauna Wheatle. "Unpacking separation of powers: judicial
independence, sovereignty and conceptual flexibility in the UK constitution." Public
law.2017, no. Jul (2017): 469-487.
McConalogue, Jim. "Parliamentary Sovereignty, the Precedent of the Mixed Constitutional
Model and the UK’s Membership of the EU." In The British Constitution Resettled, pp.
113-149. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020.
McCorkindale, Christopher. "Parliament, sovereignty and the paradox of the political
constitution." In The Constitution of Social Democracy. 2020.
Oliver, Peter. "Parliamentary Sovereignty, Federalism and the Commonwealth." The United
Kingdom and the Federal Idea (Hart Publishing, 2018) pp: 49-72.
SHEVCHENKO, M. "THE PARLIAMENTARY SOVEREIGNTY AND THE RULE OF LAW
IN THE UK LAW." In We speak Legal English, German, French, Spanish…, pp. 174-
175. 2019.
SPAVENTA, ELEANOR. "The rights of citizens under the Withdrawal Agreement: a critical
analysis." (2020): 193-206.
Ryan, Mark, and Steve Foster. Unlocking Constitutional & Administrative Law. Routledge,
2013.
Kelly, David. The English Legal System: 2015-2016. Routledge, 2015.
Carroll, Alex. Constitutional and administrative law. Pearson Education, 2003.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/role/sovereignty/
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_20_1607
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54097320
https://www.ft.com/content/9906e0d4-0c29-4f5f-9cb0-130c75a2f7a7
Young, A. "M Gordon: Parliamentary sovereignty in the UK constitution." Public Law 2016
(2016).