Question

“Where as British Parliament is a sovereign Parliament, Parliaments of India and the U.S.A. are non-sovereign legislatures.” Explain.

Answer 1

The British Parliament is considered a sovereign Parliament because it has complete legislative authority with no legal restrictions. It has the authority to establish or remove any law on any subject, and its decisions are not subject to judicial review. There is no written constitution in the United Kingdom, hence no superior legal text restricts Parliament’s authority. British courts lack the ability of judicial review to declare any parliamentary law illegal. Also, the UK’s unitary system places all legislative power in the hands of Parliament, making it genuinely sovereign.

India and the U.S. have non-sovereign legislatures because their written constitutions limit their powers. In India, Parliament can only legislate on Union and Concurrent List issues, and the Supreme Court reviews its laws. Parliament must follow the supreme law, the Constitution. In the U.S., Congress can only pass laws on enumerated federal subjects, and the Supreme Court may dismiss unlawful laws. Separation of powers and checks and balances limit Congress’s power. While the British Parliament is sovereign, the Indian and American legislatures are constitutionally limited and non-sovereign.