Sovereignty GapFill

National sovereignty refers to the democratic institutions and civil society through which the self-determination of a nation state is expressed. Historically, sovereignty in the UK has been expressed through the decisions of Parliament; however, in recent years several reforms and events have questioned the extent to which this is still the case, with the location of the UK's national sovereignty becoming more ambiguous. There are a number of reasons for this shift.

Firstly, the creation of the  Human Rights Actdevolved assembliesSupreme CourtEuropean Union in the late 1990s created new systems of government within the UK that could take different approaches to the UK government in the running of public services, law enforcement and the economy. The creation of these new jurisdictions can be said to have undermined the principle that Parliament is sovereign by allowing parts of the country to adopt sometimes contradictory policy to that which has been agreed upon by Parliament.

The primacy of legislation passed by the  Supreme Courtdevolved assembliesEuropean UnionHuman Rights Act is another way in which parliamentary sovereignty can be said to have been undermined. Until the UK left the EU, legislation passed by the Parliament in Westminster which was deemed non-complaint with EU law could be overturned in the courts. This was a key argument used in the 2016 referendum on continued membership, which produced a Leave result. 

Similarly, the establishment of the  Human Rights Actdevolved assembliesSupreme CourtFreedom of Information Act in 2009 gave the UK judiciary greater independence and powers to challenge decisions made by government and legislation passed by Parliament. In particular, the passing of the  European UnionHuman Rights ActSupreme CourtFreedom of Information Act codified universal rights into UK law and enabled citizens to challenge Acts of Parliament through the courts to a greater extent.

Finally, the increased use of referendums on major constitutional issues, such as the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence or the 2016 referendum on EU membership, have given rise to discussions around the idea of  parliamentarypopularconstitutionalnational sovereignty. With Parliament increasingly delegating major decisions to the public, some argue that sovereignty is now also expressed through the people, and not simply through Parliament.

It is worth remembering an important distinction: all of these alternative ideas of where sovereignty can be considered to lie in the UK are expressions of  politicalconstitutionalnationallegal sovereignty, meaning where sovereignty can be found in practice. Parliamentary sovereignty remains unchallenged as the central principle of  constitutionallegalpopularnational sovereignty, however.