Parliament: Sovereign or Supreme?

Brexit and the Constitution

In this course, Professor Stephen Tierney explores the United Kingdom’s constitution through the lens of the Brexit process, drawing out the constitutional issues and complexities brought to light by Brexit. In the first module, we introduce the topic and offer some key foundational information, such as Dicey’s definitions of parliamentary sovereignty. Then, in the second module, we examine the referendum alongside the concept of popular sovereignty, before turning in the third module to look in-depth at Parliament and consider how the relationship between the Lords and Commons was affected by the Brexit process. In the fourth module, we explore the relationship between Parliament and the Executive in the context of Brexit (as well as and what this reveals about the UK Constitution), before in the fifth module turning to the relationship between Parliament and the Supreme Court. In the sixth module we consider UK devolution in the context of Brexit, before finishing in the seventh module with some concluding remarks on parliamentary sovereignty, the legislative supremacy of Parliament, and how Brexit has illuminated constitutional complexities in the relationships between government, Parliament, and the Supreme Court. This course is particularly relevant for students of UK Politics and UK Government, as well as those more generally interested in the constitutional issues raised by Brexit.

Parliament: Sovereign or Supreme?

In this module, Professor Stephen Tierney explores the UK Constitution through the lens of the Brexit process, exploring the constitutional issues and complexities brought to light by Brexit and focusing in particular on: (i) the length and complexity of the Brexit process; (ii) how Brexit may have illuminated more clearly than any other issue in recent times the constitutional complexities around the role and authority of Parliament today; (iiii) Dicey’s definition of parliamentary sovereignty; (iv) distinctions between the concepts of sovereignty and legislative supremacy; (v) how political conditions have shaped and restrained what Parliament is able to do in practice.