"The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty has long been regarded as the most fundamental element of the British Constitution. It holds that Parliament has unlimited legislative authority, and that the courts have no authority to judge statutes invalid. This doctrine has recently been criticized on historical and philosophical grounds. Critics claim that it is a relatively recent invention of academic lawyers that superseded an earlier tradition in which Parliament's authority was limited by the common law. The critics also argue that it is based on a misunderstanding of the relationship between statutory and common law, and is morally indefensible." "The Sovereignty of Parliament: History and Philosophy responds to these criticisms."--BOOK JACKET.
"This is a book defending A V Dicey’s central argument concerning the sovereignty of Parliament – an argument that comes up in all sorts of constitutional contexts, for example in the government’s European Union Bill. This bill has a declaratory clause in it saying that Parliament is sovereign. The question of whether Parliament is sovereign is crucial in debates about the European Union. I personally believe that parliamentary sovereignty was undermined when we went into the European Community in 1973, but there are strong arguments on the other side. Good question. Probably David Butler's book, The Electoral System in Britain Since 1918 . It might be hard going for a beginner but it does give you the facts. There are a number of polemical books that have appeared recently, but frankly, they are not very good. If I am allowed to mention my own work, perhaps I could add that I published a book a couple of weeks ago called The Coalition and the Constitution, and it has a chapter on the alternative vote. It is not intended as a technical work, but as a book that any member of the general public can read and understand."
