Public Law Lecture 2025 – UK Constitutional Law Association

Professor Alison Younger: ‘Parliament isn’t sovereign – and it’s an excellent factor too’

nineteenth March 2025, 5pm-7pm, College of Essex (in particular person and on-line)

This thrilling occasion, sponsored by Thomson Reuters and Candy and Maxwell, who publish the journal Public Legislation, will delve into the fascinating complexities of constitutional regulation and the bounds of parliamentary energy.

Be a part of us on Wednesday 19 March, for a thought-provoking lecture that includes Professor Alison Younger as our distinguished visitor speaker.

Summary

If there may be one key characteristic of the UK structure, it’s that the Westminster Parliament is sovereign. There aren’t any legally enforceable limits over the flexibility of the Westminster Parliament to cross laws. As soon as enacted, Acts of the Westminster Parliament can’t be questioned exterior of Parliament, particularly not by a courtroom. The one restrict is that nobody Westminster Parliament could bind its successors.

On this lecture I’ll argue that these points don’t concern the sovereignty of the Westminster Parliament. As a substitute, these statements concern parliamentary legislative supremacy. Having set out this distinction, I’ll clarify why, though the Westminster Parliament could have parliamentary legislative supremacy, it isn’t supreme. I may even clarify why, a minimum of as issues the present understanding of the UK structure, it’s a good factor each that the Westminster Parliament enjoys parliamentary legislative supremacy and that it isn’t sovereign.

In regards to the speaker

Alison L. Younger is a British authorized scholar, specialising in public regulation and constitutional idea. Since January 2018, she has been Sir David Williams Professor of Public Legislation on the College of Cambridge and a Fellow of Robinson Faculty, Cambridge. She was beforehand a tutor in regulation and Fellow of Balliol Faculty, Oxford (1997–2000) and of Hertford Faculty, Oxford (2000–2017), and a lecturer then Professor of Public Legislation within the School of Legislation, College of Oxford.

She studied regulation and French on the College of Birmingham, graduating with a Bachelor of Legal guidelines (LLB) diploma. She then matriculated into Hertford Faculty, Oxford to undertake postgraduate research in regulation, and graduated from the College of Oxford with Bachelor of Civil Legislation (BCL) and Physician of Philosophy (DPhil) levels.

She was a runner up for the Inside Temple E-book Prize 2018 for her monograph Democratic Dialogue and the Structure (2017). Since March 2024, Younger has served because the Legislation Commissioner for Public Legislation and the Legislation in Wales.