Lecture notes
EU Law and Parliament Sovereighnty
- Module
- Public Law
- Institution
- University Of Portsmouth (UoP)
Lecture notes of 4 pages for the course Public Law at UoP (Class notes)
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
Week 6The tension
- Post 1973, UK courts were placed in a difficult position
- By this time parliamtnt sovereignty was well established as a fundamental constitutional
principle, and UK courts had stated on many occasions they did not have the power to
declare an Act of Parliament invalid and that parliament was the sovereign law-maker for
the UK
- But, now the European Communities Act 1972 placed the courts under an obligation to
apply, uphold and interpret EU law (i.e. laws not made by the UK parliament)
- In an ideal world, maybe there would maybe not have been much of a problem. UK law and
EU law could live side by side in perfect harmony
- But inevitably, this was not the case, and it was not long before Acts of UK parliament (i.e.
UK law) began to come not conflict with what was said in pieces of EU legislation
- The question then asked: How, given what is said in the ECA 1972, will/ should,d the UK
courts deal with these sorts of situations
The approach of the UK courts
- The approach of the UK courts to matters of conflict between UK and EU law has evolved
over time, but can generally be split into 3 separate phases
1) The parliament sovereignty prevails approach
2) The Lord Denning ‘construction’ approach
3) The EU law prevails approach
The parliamt sovereignty prevails approach
- There is evidence to suggest that in the early days after the enactment of the ECA 1972, UK
courts were of the view that nothing had really changed, that parliament sovereignty was
intact, and that national law ‘overrode’ EU law
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller keiragriffiths101. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £3.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
64438 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now