Abstract
In this article, the authors will consider a very narrow yet spectacularly important aspect of the rule of law: its place in a constitution-the constitution of the United Kingdom-in which supremacy rests not with the constitution as a document to be interpreted by a constitutional court, but with the legislature itself. While traditionally the supremacy of the Crown in Parliament has meant that British courts have had no right to set aside even the most oppressive legislation, recent extra-judicial writings and obiter dicta in case law have been indicative of a shift in the judicial mood. In light of these developments, the paper will ask: Where does the relationship between the supremacy of the Crown in Parliament and the rule of law stand now? Where might that trajectory take us? And what might be done to reconcile the two?.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 341-352 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Round Table |
Volume | 101 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 3 Aug 2012 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Aug 2012 |
Keywords
- constitutional principle
- courts
- Crown in Parliament
- J. A. G. Griffith
- juristocracy
- justice
- legislation
- legislative supremacy
- Lord Steyn
- Lord Woolf
- reasonable disagreement
- rights
- rule of law
- Sir John Laws
- the political constitution
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geography, Planning and Development