The UK Supreme Court in Miller v Prime Minister [2019] UKSC 41 held that parliamentary sovereignty is a fundamental principle of UK constitutional law. Critically discuss whether this holding is accurate.
Your essay must be referenced using footnotes and must comply with the OSCOLA referencing system. The essay should contain a bibliography. Plagiarism rules apply as normal. The essay counts for 50% the module’s overall grade. The essay must not exceed 2000 words including the footnotes, the bibliography does not count towards the word count.
Be sure to use UK case law and academic articles. Try to stick to the course readings:
Key Cases to Read
• Ellen Street Estates Ltd v Minister of Health [1934] 1 KB 590
• R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame (No. 2) [1991] 1 AC 603.
• Thoburn v Sunderland City Council [2003] QB 151
• Jackson v Attorney General [2006] 1 AC 262.
Textbook Reading
Read ONE of the following:
M. Elliott and R. Thomas, Public Law (4th Edition, OUP 2020): Chapter 6
Turpin and Tomkins Ch 2
Essential Reading
• Wade, “The Basis of Legal Sovereignty” [1955] Cambridge Law Journal 172
• AV Dicey, An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (8th Ed, 1915) Chapter 1
• HWR Wade, ‘Sovereignty—Revolution or Evolution?’ (1996) 112 LQR 568
• TRS Allan, ‘Parliamentary Sovereignty: Law, Politics, and Revolution’ (1997) 113 LQR 443.
• Alison Young, ‘Sovereignty: Demise, Afterlife, or Partial Resurrection?’ (2011) (9)(1) International Journal of Constitutional Law 163.
Recommended Reading
• Mark Elliott, ‘Parliamentary Sovereignty in a changing constitutional landscape’ in Jowell and Ó Cinnéide (eds) The Changing Constitution (9th ed 2019).
• NW Barber ‘The Afterlife of Parliamentary Sovereignty’ (2011) 9(1) International Journal of Constitutional Law 144.
• A Greene, ‘Parliamentary Sovereignty and the Locus of Constituent Power in the United Kingdom’ (2020) 18(4) International Journal of Constitutional Law 1166
Writing an Essay
• 5 basic steps
o Before you start: the 4 C’s principles
o Communication: an essay is supposed to commnicate an idea
o Concision: more is not always better. Stick to the length necessary to make your argument
o Clarity: you need to be clear regarding what you are proposing
o Coherence: make sure your arguments
o Start to write an essay: thinking about the content
• Thesis/main argument: prerogative powers should be codified because it can be anti-democratic
• Main argument 1: lack of clarity regarding the use of prerogative powers
o Short historical development (proclamations. Prohibitions, Bill of Rights)
