Acceso usuarios
Michael Gordon, Michael Dougan
This article offers a critical assessment of the European Union Act 2011, which was enacted by the UK Parliament in July 2011, and entered fully into force by September of the same year. Three issues warrant particular attention. First, the so-called "sovereignty clause" contained in s.18 of the Act. Although that provision attracted much public and political attention, it actually says little new about the legal basis for EU law to take effect within the UK legal order. Secondly, the Act's system of control over various decisions relating to the European Union based upon wide-ranging requirements for referenda, primary legislation and parliamentary approval. We argue that that system is ill-conceived and potentially damaging to the United Kingdom's position within the Union (as well as to the United Kingdom's own quality of democratic life). Thirdly, the difficult question of how far the "referendum locks" provided for in the new Act are legally enforceable and, in particular, how far they might be considered binding upon future governments and Parliaments. A "manner and form" understanding of the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty suggests that those "referendum locks" may well be legally binding, but they are far from constitutionally entrenched.
