Constitutional and Administrative Law - Essay Example

Out of the three mentioned above the parliamentary sovereignty is the elementary principle which guides the action of the constitution. The root of the doctrine is in the political events of the late seventeenth century and the legal hypothesis propounded by Professor Dicey (Loveland, I, 2006, pp. 21-93.). The Parliament is a sovereign law creator and thus has the power to either make or unmake any law. According to Dicey (1885:39-40), “Parliamentary sovereignty means Parliament has the right to make or unmake any law whatever; and, further, that no person or body is recognized by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament”(Turpin, C.

& Tomkins, A, 2007, p.40). Thus this doctrine entails that there is no law which is higher than the Act of Parliament. The Human Rights Act 1998 contributed the European Rule on Human Rights into UK domestic law. Section 3 of the Act produces an informational responsibility for the courts. It calls for all Acts of Parliament to be understood in a manner which is well-suited with the Convention rights. The informational powers of the courts can change the meaning of legislation when the circumstances demand for it, even though it may be clear that such an intrepretation is against the intention of the legislature.

In cases of discrepancy the courts are handed the opening to make a proclamation of repugnance (section 4 of the Act)( http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1998/19980042.htm accessed on 13th August 2009..) The Human Rights Act 1998 also disputed the querry of whether it is reliable to the principle of Parliamentary sovereignty. Even if it is feasible for the parliament to revoke or alter the Act, it can certainly be said that parliament can not break out from the force which the public opinion on Human Rights puts on it.

According to Elliot "it will become much rarer for legislation to contradict human