QUES . Compare and contrast the British and Indian approaches to Parliamentary sovereignty. UPSC 2023 GS MAINS PAPER 2 150 Words 10 Marks
HINTS:
Parliamentary sovereignty means that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all other government institutions, including executive or judicial bodies. Parliamentary sovereignty is also known as parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy.
Parliamentary sovereignty is a principle of the UK constitution. It makes Parliament the supreme legal authority in the UK, which can create or end any law.
Though, India and Britain both follow Parliamentary form of democracy but have differences over
approaches in terms of parliamentary sovereignty.
Must read: Principle of ‘checks and balance’ under constitution of India
In India, parliamentary sovereignty coexists with judicial review. The parliamentary authority can be reviewed by Supreme and High courts through their judicial review power. Thus any law that contravenes the fundamental principles and rights enshrined in the Constitution can be declared void. On the other hand in Britain the British Parliament is the supreme legal authority, and its laws are beyond judicial review. This means that no court can question or invalidate an act of Parliament.
Moreover, India’s federal system of government further constrains parliamentary sovereignty. The Indian Parliament cannot legislate on matters exclusively within the State List without special circumstances. Whereas Britain does not have a strict separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Thus in Britain parliament can legislate on any subject, including constitutional matters, without limitations.
Must read: “Constitutionally guaranteed judicial independence is a prerequisite of democracy.”
In India, Parliament can’t alter the constitution as per its requirements for example it can’t alter the basic structure. As parliament sovereignty is limited by the constitution, In India certain amendments to the constitution are done using simple majority, some by the special majority and some by special majority with state ratification. On the other hand, the constitution of UK is an unwritten constitution which can’t restrict the power of its parliament. Thus in UK, any amendments including amendments to the constitution will be passed with a simple majority.
Must read: Parliamentary control over administration is no substitute for judicial control
Despite the differences, there are some similarities between the Indian and British approaches to parliamentary sovereignty. Both India and Britain follow the parliamentary form of democracy, both India and Britain recognize the role of the judiciary in interpreting and upholding the Constitution, in both countries parliamentary sovereignty is subject to constitutional limitations etc.
Thus we can say that , according to our needs the framers of our constitution adopted the constitutional framework which had a mix of both separation of power as well as checks and balances which makes our democracy more inclusive and accountable.
External link: https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/role/sovereignty/
