Parliamentary Sovereignty Essay

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Parliamentary Sovereignty Essay “Parliament is no longer ‘sovereign’, if indeed it ever was.” Discuss The Doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty Parliament is a legislative body which has a central role in the legal and political constitutions. It has power to make constitutional changes by ordinary process of legislation. It is therefore said that Parliament is sovereign in the sense that there are no legal limits upon it. It has no legal limits and the courts cannot questions or review the validity of legislation. Parliament and its authority: The Westminster Parliament is a primary forum for political debate and has a legislature role. It occupies a central role in both the legal and political constitutions. It is regarded as a fundamental constitutional rule that there are no legal limits upon Westminster’s legislative powers, and that the courts may not question or review the validity of legislation. The authority of Parliament includes the power to make constitutional changes by ordinary process of legislation, unlike the specific amendment procedures that apply to most written constitutions. From a political perspective, Parliament is the forum where political leadership is given public exposure, the contest between the parties is fought out between general elections, public opinion is expressed, social and economic questions are debated, new laws approved and the government called to account. From a legal perspective, Parliament underpins the entire legal system and machinery of justice (by authorizing and funding the existence of courts and tribunals, the judiciary, legal aid, and do on), and meets the need for legislation that exists in every contemporary legal system. From both political and legal perspectives, Parliament has a central role amongst institutions of the state, even if it often appears to have a merely instrumental
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