Parliamentary Sovereignty and Popular Sovereignty in the UK Constitution

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dc.contributor.authorGoldsworthy, J.
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractRivka Weill claims that in the nineteenth century the foundation of the UK constitution changed from parliamentary sovereignty to popular sovereignty, originally as a matter of constitutional convention but today as a matter of law. I argue, to the contrary, that parliamentary sovereignty as a legal principle and popular sovereignty as a political principle are perfectly compatible. Constitutional conventions are essentially political not legal requirements. Therefore, a constitutional convention requiring popular approval of constitutional change, if it ever existed, would not have violated parliamentary sovereignty. But if it did exist, it was displaced by the Parliament Act 1911 and has not been revived since. Moreover, there is no evidence that courts today have legal authority to enforce any requirement, conventional or legal, requiring such approval.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityJeffrey Goldsworthy
dc.identifier.citationCambridge Law Journal, 2022; 81(2):273-293
dc.identifier.doi10.1017/s0008197322000022
dc.identifier.issn0008-1973
dc.identifier.issn1469-2139
dc.identifier.orcidGoldsworthy, J. [0000-0002-9374-1208]
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2440/138850
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherCambridge University Press (CUP)
dc.rights© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1017/s0008197322000022
dc.subjectUK constitution; parliamentary sovereignty; popular sovereignty; constitutional convention; referendums; A.V. Dicey; Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
dc.titleParliamentary Sovereignty and Popular Sovereignty in the UK Constitution
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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