AV Dicey on Parliamentary Sovereignty

AV Dicey believed there are 3 basic rules that define Parliamentary Sovereignty in the UK. These were known by many as the Diceian definition. The first is that Parliament is competent to make or unmake any law it wishes. Thus its legislative competence is unlimited. Parliament frequently make laws, but when we speak of Parliament being able to ‘unmake’ laws, what we mean in essence, is that Parliament have the power and the ability to repeal any previous Act of Parliament, or to legislate against common law. Dicey’s second rule is that no person or body has the power or capability to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament. The Crown for instance, cannot suspend or execute laws without Parliament permission, as stated in the Bill of Rights 1689. And the courts cannot question the validity of an act that has been through the legislative process (passed through both Houses of Parliament) and received Royal assent. This is known as the “enrolled bill role”. Finally, no Parliament can be bound by a predecessor, or may bind a successor. This is an important aspect of Parliamentary Sovereignty because if Parliament is to remain sovereign then its absolute freedom should not be restricted by the decisions earlier Parliaments made.