The Rule of Law

Another key concept in UK Constitutional Law!

Beware of treating this as a wishy-washy general idea about acceptable legal behaviour. There are some very specific meanings to the phrase.

Dicey proposed three aspects

(1) No person is punishable except for a distinct breach of law established in the ordinary legal manner before the ordinary courts of the land - therefore there should be no 'arbitrary' justice - behaviour should be prohibited in advance - not after the event - people we think might have mischievous intent shouldn't be locked up because they might commit a crime (despite the exasperation of certain Home Secretaries that the Courts are reluctant to deport or intern people who aren't convicted of anything, but are clearly evil.)

(2) No person is above the law - the ordinary law of the land applies to everyone, and as Barnett comments, "there must not only exist a system of courts available locally but the cost of having recourse to the courts must be such that there is real - rather than symbolic - access to the courts. For the law to be attainable, adequate legal advice and assistance must be provided at a cost affordable by all." (Once upon a time....)

(3) the general principles of the constitution are the result of ordinary cases in which rights have been determined. - Dicey meant that in the UK we don't have special courts for Administrative Law, but the ordinary courts applied the same approach whether they were dealing with bureaucrats or ordinary citizens involved in disputes with other citizens. (Perhaps a bit quaint in this era of judicial review and multi-national corporations.)

NOTE - I've tried to be deliberately provocative - how who you respond to such opinions in an exam question?

Reasoned evaluation is the key - and examiners look for it. You can practice by looking at newspaper headlines in the coming week - apply the "Rule of Law" to what the editor or the politician is arguing.

There are some useful cases to reflect upon - Prohibitions del Roy (1607); Entick v Carrington (1765) R v IRC ex parte Rossminster Ltd; R v Horseferry Road Magistrates Court ex parte Bennett; Phillips v Eyre; In re M (1993) - worth making brief casenotes on!

There are also some useful questions to consider as you revise. Do reflect on how the concept of the Rule of Law relates to other constitutional principles. There's an excellent book on the Rule of Law and related subjects by the late Lord Bingham.

A little more on Parliamentary Supremacy/Sovereignty

One of the first writers to discuss the concept was Jean Bodin (1529/30 - 1596), who published in 1576 "Les Six Livres de la Republique". Cambridge University Press have taken some of the chapters and published them as "On Sovereignty" which was edited by Julian Franklin.



The context was that the idea of being "English" or "French" was changing from the feudal idea of being the subject of a particular king (as in "I am English because I owe my allegiance to the King of England") to being from a particular geographic area (the modern idea of "I am English because I was born/live permanently in England). Ideas of states based on geography, and have a single source of constitutional power began to develop.

Parliamentary Sovereignty is a concept based on that idea of there being a single source of power. Once the King was sovereign (this is not a pun!) - but after the English Civil War, and certainly after the "Glorious Revolution" in which Parliament 'chased James II out of town' and chose William and Mary to be the new Monarchs - it was recognised that power derives from Parliament. It can make or dissolve any institution (it can create, and subsequently abolish a Scottish Parliament; institutions of local government; Courts...); and define who can become King (Act of Settlement 1701).

Dicey is the most well known academic who sought to describe and define the principle. To slightly paraphrase him - it means

1 Parliament can pass any law it wants (unlike the US Congress which can have its laws struck down by the Supreme Court if in conflict with the Constitution)

2 A Parliament is not bound by its predecessors (so there can be no entrenched legislation which forces a later Parliament to use special procedures to change specific laws - like a 2/3 majority, or a referendum)

3 What Parliament has done cannot be questioned in the Courts (another aspect of the first meaning)

But Parliamentary Sovereignty has been challenged. It sits uneasily with British membership of the European Union. By passing the European Communities Act 1972. Our membership involves agreeing to limit our legislative freedom - and to be subject to decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union.In the Thoburn case it was recognised that the usual principle of "implied repeal" didn't apply to the European Communities Act. Of course the answer to a claim that Parliamentary Sovereignty is dead - is that Parliament retains the sovereign right to repeal the European Communities Act.

Dicey is not the only view of the doctrine. There is an excellent, thought provoking book by Jeffrey Goldsworthy


Most Constitutional Textbooks rehearse the various arguments. If you are a law student sitting exams shortly - be sure that you are able to define the doctrine and discuss the various arguments about its strength today. Don't forget the importance of critically evaluating the arguments put forward by the various commentators.

Dicey and Parliamentary Supremacy

One of the greatest writers about the British Constitution was Albert Venn Dicey. He lived from February 4, 1835 to April 7, 1922. His first major work, "An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution" appeared in 1885. He is most famous for his work in describing and defining the doctrines of "Parliamentary Sovereignty" and the "Rule of Law".

The doctrine of parliamentary supremacy was summarised by Dicey in three points:

Parliament can make law concerning anything. - this is in contrast to the position in many countries where the acts of the legislature can be struck down for conflicting with the Constitution (as can happen in the USA after the Supreme Court claimed the power in Marbury v Madison)

No Parliament can bind a future parliament (that is, it cannot pass a law that cannot be changed or reversed by a future Parliament) - put another way, no incoming Parliament is bound by previous parliaments. Again this contrasts with other countries where certain rules are 'entrenched' - meaning the rule can either never be repealed (as with the French Constitution Art 89 "The republican form of government shall not be the object of any amendment") or requires special procedures to amend ( such as Art 5 of the US Constitution requiring 2/3rd of all States or 2/3rd of both House of Congress to propose an amendment - and ratification of the amendment by3/4th of all state legislatures)

A valid Act of Parliament cannot be questioned by the court. Parliament is the supreme lawmaker.
There is a very useful article on recent developments on Wikipedia (NOT A SOURCE I WOULD GENERALLY USE OR TRUST) - but whoever the author was, they have produced a useful resource.

Recent developments

Parliamentary sovereignty prevents judicial review of primary legislation passed by Parliament. However, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the notion of parliamentary supremacy was modified under the influence of five principal sources: The devolution of power to regional assemblies in Scotland (Scottish Parliament), Wales (Welsh Assembly) and Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Assembly). All three assemblies can pass primary legislation within the areas that have been devolved to them. As the system remains devolved and not federal, the powers of these assemblies stems from the UK Parliament and can be suspended.

The UK's membership of the European Economic Community, later the European Union, from 1973. The EU represents, as the European Court of Justice ruled in 1963 in the case Van Gend en Loos, a "new legal order of international law for the benefit of which the [Member] States have limited their sovereign rights, albeit within limited fields". The UK became part of that legal order - though the fact that UK membership of the EU has been brought about through Acts of Parliament - principally the European Communities Act 1972 - raises the possibility that Parliament could, as a matter of UK law, pass further legislation unilaterally withdrawing the UK from the Union, or selectively barring the application of European law within the UK. {As subsequent events have shown!}

Following the case of Thoburn v Sunderland City Council certain statutes are protected as Constitutional Statutes. The case involved amendments to the Weights and Measures Act 1985 by the Weights and Measures Act 1985 (Metrication) (Amendment) Order 1994 pursuant to Directive 80/181/EEC. This stated that Imperial measurements could be displayed so long as the metric measurements were displayed in larger type beside them. Thoburn was convicted for only using Imperial measurements. In his defence he argued that allowing even limited use of Imperial measurements was in contravention of the relevant directive and therefore in contravention of Section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. This would have invoked the doctrine of implied repeal which is essential to the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty. In his judgment, Lord Justice Laws held that certain statutes of constitutional importance including Magna Carta and the European Communities Act 1972 could not be repealed by implied repeal. As such, this has slightly limited Parliament's sovereignty.

The enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 which incorporates part of the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law. The Act gives UK courts the power to issue a declaration of incompatibility where they believe that the terms of an Act of Parliament are in contravention of the rights guaranteed by the Act. The effect of the declaration is not to annul the Act but send a signal to Parliament which may then choose to amend the offending provision. As with the UK's membership of the European Union, the principle of parliamentary supremacy means that Parliament can at any time vote to repeal the Act and indeed the UK's ratification of the Convention itself.

The increasing use of referendums. Although the result of a referendum is in no way binding on Parliament unless it has previously agreed that this will be case, in practice there will be considerable pressure on Parliament from the electorate to take the result into account.

However, Parliament may withdraw from the most of the commitments it has made or repeal any of the constraints it has imposed on its ability to legislate. Thus, Parliament theoretically remains almost entirely sovereign. The qualifier "almost" is provided because in 1921, after a century of dispute, Parliament passed the Church of Scotland Act 1921 which finally agreed that it does not have sovereignty over the Church of Scotland, the established church in Scotland.

There is a concept in political science of 'legal' and 'political' sovereignty. It can be argued that legal sovereignty has not been lost, because Parliament still retains all its theoretical powers. There are no legal limits on Parliament's sovereignty. However, as it is highly unlikely that the UK would repeal the European Communities Act and leave the EU, and it is unlikely the devolved legislature would be abolished, there are significant political limits on the sovereignty of Parliament. Nevertheless, it remains the case that the UK Parliament could do so without seeking the mutual consent of the EU or the devolved legislatures, as it did with the abolition of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1972, and that if it did, these repeals would be legally and politically binding.

This stands in contrast to the Acts of Parliament which have been used to grant independence from the UK to former dominions and colonies in the British Empire. Following the Balfour Declaration, the Statute of Westminster 1931 established a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the British Empire and the United Kingdom, and provided that Acts passed by the UK Parliament would not apply in the dominions without a dominion's express consent. It is difficult to see how the UK could later resile from that position. By way of further example, the UK Parliament passed the Canada Act 1982 which stated that the UK Parliament would no longer be able to amend the Canadian constitution. If the UK parliament were to repeal or amend the Canada Act 1982, it would be unenforceable as Canada is no longer subject to UK sovereignty.

Of course this year we have had the decision in R (Miller) v Sec of State for Exiting the European Union. A Must Read!!!

Revision for Constitutional Law - Dicey on Parliamentary Sovereignty

A couple of years ago (doesn't it show!) I recorded three short videos on the subject of Dicey and his explanation of Parliamentary Sovereignty (or 'supremacy').

If you are revising for an exam in which Parliamentary Sovereignty may make an appearance (such as the Open University's W200 or W201 courses - or Constitutional Law at degree level) - these videos may assist your revision.

Please use - or share this post with people who might find it useful. It is also of course relevant to the debate around the EU Referendum.

Parliamentary Sovereignty

Law students are inducted into the mysteries of "Parliamentary Sovereignty" as part of their Constitutional Law studies. It's a favourite (for those who set them at least!) exam subject. There have been a number of Washminster postings on the subject -

11 Sept 2007

21 June 2009

29 Sept 2009

14 Jan 2010

Key to understanding the topic are -

* Dicey's teachings on Parliamentary Sovereignty
* the challenges that membership of the European Union has for Dicey's traditional view of the doctrine
* how the Human Rights Act 1998 attempts to recognise the doctrine - but how its application (interpretation under s3 widely used, rather than Declaration of Incompatability - s4)

Particular issues to reflect upon

- is the doctrine one of substance or procedure? - Edinburgh and Dalkeith Rly Co v Wauchope (1842) 8 Cl & Fin 710, 8 ER 279, Lee v Bude and Torrington Junction Rly Co (1871) LR 6 CP 576 and BRB v Pickin [1974] AC 765 - all uphold the principle that what parliament says is the law is accepted by the Courts as such - the "Enrolled Bill Rule"

- what do cases on the doctrine of Implied Repeal say that is relevant? - and in particular Thoburn v Sunderland City Council [2002] 3 WLR 247?

Tom Bingham (Rt Hon Lord Bingham of Cornhill) has some very useful remarks on the subject in his book "The Rule of Law".

The Rule of Law

The "Rule of Law" is a principle central to the British and American systems. The Magna Carta is often seen as the statute which established the principle in our joint tradition because it contains the principle that the King, like all his subjects, is subject to the rule of law

A.V.Dicey summarised the rule of law (in the UK) under three heads.

Primarily...No man could be punished or lawfully interfered with by the authorities except for breaches of law. In other words, all government actions must be authorised by law.

Secondarily...No man is above the law and everyone, regardless of rank, is subject to the ordinary laws of the land.

Finally...There is no need for a bill of rights because the general principle of the constitution are the result of judicial decisions determining the rights of the private person. (this last point of course is not shared with the American tradition - and since the Human Rights Act 1998, is now rejected here)

{The memorial at Runnymede, pictured above, was built by the American Bar Association - which intends to meet there in 2015 - the 800th anniversary of King John's signing of the Magna Carta at that place}

A V Dicey

One of the greatest writers about the British Constitution was Albert Venn Dicey. He lived from February 4, 1835 to April 7, 1922. His first major work, "An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution" appeared in 1885. He is most famous for his work in describing and defining the doctrines of "Parliamentary Sovereignty" and the "Rule of Law".

The doctrine of parliamentary supremacy was summarised by Dicey in three points:

• Parliament can make law concerning anything. - this is in contrast to the position in many countries where the acts of the legislature can be struck down for conflicting with the Constitution (as can happen in the USA after the Supreme Court claimed the power in Marbury v Madison)


• No Parliament can bind a future parliament (that is, it cannot pass a law that cannot be changed or reversed by a future Parliament) - put another way, no incoming Parliament is bound by previous parliaments. Again this contrasts with other countries where certain rules are 'entrenched' - meaning the rule can either never be repealed (as with the French Constitution Art 89 "The republican form of government shall not be the object of any amendment") or requires special procedures to amend ( such as Art 5 of the US Constitution requiring 2/3rd of all States or 2/3rd of both House of Congress to propose an amendment - and ratification of the amendment by3/4th of all state legislatures)


• A valid Act of Parliament cannot be questioned by the court. Parliament is the supreme lawmaker.

There is a very useful article on recent developments on Wikipedia (NOT A SOURCE I WOULD GENERALLY USE OR TRUST) - but whoever the author was, they have produced a useful resource.

Recent developments

Parliamentary sovereignty prevents judicial review of primary legislation passed by Parliament. However, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the notion of parliamentary supremacy was modified under the influence of five principal sources: The devolution of power to regional assemblies in Scotland (Scottish Parliament), Wales (Welsh Assembly) and Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Assembly). All three assemblies can pass primary legislation within the areas that have been devolved to them. As the system remains devolved and not federal, the powers of these assemblies stems from the UK Parliament and can be suspended.

The UK's membership of the European Economic Community, later the European Union, from 1973. The EU represents, as the European Court of Justice ruled in 1963 in the case Van Gend en Loos, a "new legal order of international law for the benefit of which the [Member] States have limited their sovereign rights, albeit within limited fields". The UK became part of that legal order - though the fact that UK membership of the EU has been brought about through Acts of Parliament - principally the European Communities Act 1972 - raises the possibility that Parliament could, as a matter of UK law, pass further legislation unilaterally withdrawing the UK from the Union, or selectively barring the application of European law within the UK.

Following the case of Thoburn v Sunderland City Council certain statutes are protected as Constitutional Statutes. The case involved amendments to the Weights and Measures Act 1985 by the Weights and Measures Act 1985 (Metrication) (Amendment) Order 1994 pursuant to Directive 80/181/EEC. This stated that Imperial measurements could be displayed so long as the metric measurements were displayed in larger type beside them. Thoburn was convicted for only using Imperial measurements. In his defence he argued that allowing even limited use of Imperial measurements was in contravention of the relevant directive and therefore in contravention of Section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. This would have invoked the doctrine of implied repeal which is essential to the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty. In his judgment, Lord Justice Laws held that certain statutes of constitutional importance including Magna Carta and the European Communities Act 1972 could not be repealed by implied repeal. As such, this has slightly limited Parliament's sovereignty.

The enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 which incorporates part of the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law. The Act gives UK courts the power to issue a declaration of incompatibility where they believe that the terms of an Act of Parliament are in contravention of the rights guaranteed by the Act. The effect of the declaration is not to annul the Act but send a signal to Parliament which may then choose to amend the offending provision. As with the UK's membership of the European Union, the principle of parliamentary supremacy means that Parliament can at any time vote to repeal the Act and indeed the UK's ratification of the Convention itself.

The increasing use of referendums. Although the result of a referendum is in no way binding on Parliament unless it has previously agreed that this will be case, in practice there will be considerable pressure on Parliament from the electorate to take the result into account.

However, Parliament may withdraw from the most of the commitments it has made or repeal any of the constraints it has imposed on its ability to legislate. Thus, Parliament theoretically remains almost entirely sovereign. The qualifier "almost" is provided because in 1921, after a century of dispute, Parliament passed the Church of Scotland Act 1921 which finally agreed that it does not have sovereignty over the Church of Scotland, the established church in Scotland.

There is a concept in political science of 'legal' and 'political' sovereignty. It can be argued that legal sovereignty has not been lost, because Parliament still retains all its theoretical powers. There are no legal limits on Parliament's sovereignty. However, as it is highly unlikely that the UK would repeal the European Communities Act and leave the EU, and it is unlikely the devolved legislature would be abolished, there are significant political limits on the sovereignty of Parliament. Nevertheless, it remains the case that the UK Parliament could do so without seeking the mutual consent of the EU or the devolved legislatures, as it did with the abolition of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1972, and that if it did, these repeals would be legally and politically binding.

This stands in contrast to the Acts of Parliament which have been used to grant independence from the UK to former dominions and colonies in the British Empire. Following the Balfour Declaration, the Statute of Westminster 1931 established a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the British Empire and the United Kingdom, and provided that Acts passed by the UK Parliament would not apply in the dominions without a dominion's express consent. It is difficult to see how the UK could later resile from that position. By way of further example, the UK Parliament passed the Canada Act 1982 which stated that the UK Parliament would no longer be able to amend the Canadian constitution. If the UK parliament were to repeal or amend the Canada Act 1982, it would be unenforceable as Canada is no longer subject to UK sovereignty.

The full article is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_supremacy#Recent_developments