THE EFFECT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ACT 1972 AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998 ON THE UK'S CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER CONSIDERING THE PRINCIPLE OF PARLIAMENTARY SOVEREIGNTY

Abstract

In this paper, author discusses the challenging of British constitutional doctrine in respect of two statutes: the European Community Act 1972 (ECA 1972) and the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998). Both statutes subject the UK Parliament to a supra-national controlling mechanism. The European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) is interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) European Treaties are interpreted by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The main task of this essay is to examine the effects of these statutes on the UK's constitutional order in order to determine the limitations of sovereignty of UK Parliament.