Which statement best describes parliamentary sovereignty?

• A. Parliament can make or repeal an Act; no court can override primary legislation; courts can review secondary legislation and may issue declarations of incompatibility under the Human Rights Act 1998, but cannot strike down primary Acts.
• B. Parliament can make or repeal an Act; no court can override primary legislation; courts can review secondary legislation and may issue declarations of incompatibility under the Human Rights Act 1998, but cannot strike down primary Acts.
• C. Courts can strike down primary Acts that breach constitutional rights.
• D. EU law automatically prevails over all Parliamentary Acts.

Answer: (B)

Parliamentary sovereignty means Parliament is the supreme law‑making body. It can make or repeal Acts, and no court has the power to strike down primary legislation. Courts do have a role with secondary legislation—rules made under an Act—and under the Human Rights Act 1998 they can issue declarations of incompatibility if an Act or secondary rules clash with the European Convention on Human Rights. However, such a declaration does not invalidate the Act; Parliament may still choose to keep or amend the law.

The incorrect ideas would be that courts can strike down primary Acts or that EU law automatically prevails over Parliament’s statutes. Under this framework, primary Acts cannot be overridden by courts, and, in the current system post-Brexit, EU law does not automatically trump Parliament’s Acts.