UNIT 5- PARLIAMENTARY

SOVEREIGNTY

Mrs Kaswalale K Mwauluka

 Definition and meaning of the concept of
parliamentary sovereignty or supremacy
 Facets of parliamentary sovereignty
 Parliamentary supremacy and the rule of law
DEFINITION AND MEANING OF THE CONCEPT OF
PARLIAMENTARY SUPREMACY/SOVEREIGNTY

 The term parliamentary is derived from the word

parliament (comprising of the president and the national
assembly).
 Sovereignty refers to supreme power/ authority or self
governance.
 Parliamentary sovereignty is an important concept of
constitutional law.
 It refers to the power or authority or independence that
parliament has to enact, amend and or repeal law and that
no person or body shall have the right to set aside/override
the legislation promulgated by Parliament.
CONTINUATION......
 Article 62 of the constitution provides for parliamentary
sovereignty.
 Parliamentary sovereignty/supremacy entails that the legislative
body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all state
institutions and arms of the government.
 It also pertains to the fact that as a result of the sovereignty it
holds, it can amend, enact or repeal any legislation. Therefore it is
not bound by written law (not even the constitution as this can also
be subject to amendments) or by precedent.
 An example is that of amendments that have been made to the
Constitution itself. E.g the enactment of Act No.2 of 2016 (the
Constitution of Zambia in 2016).
A.V DICEY’S DEFINITION OF PARLIAMENTARY SOVEREIGNTY

 AV Dicey provided a definition of parliamentary

sovereignty in his works (Introduction to the Study of
the Law of the Constitution 1885).
 He stated that ‘the principle of Parliamentary
sovereignty means neither more nor less than this,
namely that Parliament thus defined has, under the
English constitution, the right to make or unmake any
law whatever: and, further, that no person or body is
recognised by the law of England as having a right to
override or set aside the legislation of Parliament’.
FACETS OF PARLIAMENTARY SUPREMACY

Parliamentary sovereignty therefore, has three

facets attached to it. These being:
 Parliament is the supreme law making body and
may enact laws on any subject matter
 No parliament may be bound by a predecessor or
bind a successor
 No person or body may question the validity of
an enactment by parliament.
PARLIAMENT IS THE SUPREME LAW MAKING BODY AND MAY ENACT LAWS ON ANY
SUBJECT MATTER

 Article 62 (3) of the Constitution states that ‘a person or

body, other than Parliament, shall not have power to enact
legislation, except as conferred by this Constitution’.
 This illustrates the supremacy of parliament.
 However, a limitation is placed by virtue of the words
“except as conferred by this Constitution”.
 This entails that regardless of parliament holding the
power/authority of enacting laws a limitation is placed in
that if conferred by the Constitution another person or body
can enact laws. An example is that of delegated legislation.
CONTINUATION………….
 This facet of parliamentary sovereignty entails that
parliament has the mandate of enacting laws on any
subject matter i.e there is no limit on any subject
matter.
 Parliament can therefore enact law (i.e make new law)
or amend (i.e change existing law). An example is by
virtue of Article 68 (2) (e)of Act No 2 of 2016 there
was the creation of an office for two deputy speakers.
The prior law provided for the existence of only one
deputy speaker.
 However, it is wise to point out that another existing limitation in
relation to parliament being the supreme lawmaking body having
power to enact law on any subject matter, is that any legislation
enacted by Parliament that is in contravention of Constitutional
provisions is rendered void
 Article 1 (1) of the Constitution stipulates that ‘this Constitution is
the supreme law of the Republic of Zambia and any other written
law, customary law and customary practice that is inconsistent
with its provisions is void to the extent of the inconsistency’.
 Thomas Mumba v the people
 Christine Mulundika v the people
 Additionally, regardless of it holding the supreme
power or authority to enact laws the existence of
such laws are dependent on presidential assent.
This equally stands as a limitation. This is
provided for in Act No.2 of 2016 article 63 (1)
states that parliament shall enact legislation
through Bills passed by the National Assembly
and assented to by the President
NO PARLIAMENT MAY BE BOUND BY A PREDECESSOR OR BIND A SUCCESSOR

 The second facet of parliamentary sovereignty is that no

parliament may be bound by a predecessor or bind a
successor.
 This rides on the consideration that parliament composition
as per constitutional provisions is amended every 5 years.
 Therefore each parliament must hold unlimited power as
any parliament before it or even after it.
 This facet is attached to the fact that sovereignty entails
independence and self governance. Therefore if a
parliament is bound by its predecessor or binds a successor
this might water down the supremacy or sovereignty of
parliament.
CONTINUATION.......
 Therefore, no parliament may enact rules that
will limit future parliaments.
 This therefore, exists as a limitation of
parliamentary sovereignty. In that regardless of
the sovereignty enjoyed, parliament cannot be
bound by a predecessor or bind a successor.
NO PERSON OR BODY MAY QUESTION THE VALIDITY OF AN
ENACTMENT BY PARLIAMENT

 The third facet of parliamentary sovereignty is that, no

person or body may question the validity of an enactment
by parliament.
 This facet upholds the sovereignty of parliamentary
sovereignty.
 However, a limitation exists in that were a matter as to
the validity of such law is brought before the courts of
law, if established that such law is against moral standing,
peace, order, natural justice, contravenes the constitution
inter alia, such law shall be rendered null and void.
CONTINUATION…..
 Any enactment by Parliament that contravenes
the constitution shall be rendered void (Thomas
Mumba v The People. Christine Mulundika and 7
Others v The People).
 Supremacy lies with the Constitution and any
other Acts of Parliament or Statutes are
subsidiary to the Constitution of Zambia.
PARLIAMENTARY SUPREMACY AND THE RULE OF LAW

 A relationship exists between parliamentary

sovereignty and the rule of law.
 In as much as parliament enjoys its sovereignty in
so far as the promulgation of laws is concerned,
there is great demand as to the adherence of the
rule of law. The rule of law as a concept of
constitutionalism endeavours to curtail arbitrary
ruling.
CASES
 Thomas Mumba v the People
 Christine Mulundika and Others v the People
QUESTIONS
 What is your understanding of parliamentary
sovereignty?
 Regardless of the enjoyment of parliamentary
sovereignty is this power unlimited?
 What is the relationship between parliamentary
sovereignty/supremacy and the rule of law?