The Location of Sovereignty in the UK Political System | 英国政治体系中主权的归属

📚 The Location of Sovereignty in the UK Political System | 英国政治体系中主权的归属

In the UK political system, sovereignty is often described as the supreme legal authority within a state. It determines who, or what institution, has the final say in making and enforcing laws. For most of modern British history, the orthodox answer has been that sovereignty lies with Parliament, specifically the Crown-in-Parliament. However, in recent decades this view has been challenged by EU membership, devolution, judicial review, human rights law and the growing use of referendums. This article examines where sovereignty actually lies today, considering both legal and political dimensions.

在英国政治体系中，主权通常被描述为一个国家内最高的法律权威。它决定了谁或哪个机构在制定和执行法律方面拥有最终决定权。在现代英国历史的大部分时间里，正统答案是主权属于议会，具体而言是 ‘王在议会’。然而，近几十年来，这一观点受到欧盟成员资格、权力下放、司法审查、人权法以及公投日益广泛使用的挑战。本文将从法律与政治两个维度审视主权如今究竟在何处。

1. Defining Sovereignty: Legal and Political Dimensions | 主权的定义：法律与政治维度

In A-level Politics, it is essential to distinguish between legal sovereignty and political sovereignty. Legal sovereignty refers to the ultimate legal authority that can make, amend or repeal any law, and whose decisions cannot be overridden by any other body. Political sovereignty, by contrast, refers to where power actually lies in practice, taking account of political constraints, public opinion and the real distribution of influence.

在 A-level 政治学中，区分法律主权与政治主权至关重要。法律主权指能够制定、修改或废除任何法律的最终法律权威，其决定不能被任何其他机构推翻。相比之下，政治主权指权力在实践中实际掌握在谁手中，它考虑了政治约束、公共舆论以及影响力的真实分配。

This distinction helps explain why the location of sovereignty in the UK is contested. Legally, Parliament may remain sovereign, but politically, power may have shifted to the executive, the judiciary, devolved institutions or the people through referendums. The debate is therefore not simply about what the law says, but about how the constitution operates in reality.

这一区分有助于解释为何英国主权的归属存在争议。从法律上说，议会可能仍然拥有主权，但从政治上看，权力可能已经转移到行政部门、司法机关、权力下放机构或通过公投转移到人民手中。因此，争论不仅仅关乎法律如何规定，更关乎宪法在现实中如何运作。

Because the UK has an uncodified constitution, there is no single written document that defines the location of sovereignty. Instead, sovereignty is shaped by statutes, conventions, court judgments and political practice. This makes the concept more fluid and more open to competing interpretations than in countries with a codified constitution.

由于英国拥有一部不成文宪法，并不存在一份界定主权归属的单一成文文件。相反，主权是由成文法、惯例、法院判决和政治实践共同塑造的。这使得这一概念比拥有成文宪法的国家更加流动，也更容易产生相互竞争的解释。

2. Parliamentary Sovereignty: The Orthodox Doctrine | 议会主权：正统学说

The traditional doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty was most famously articulated by the Victorian jurist A. V. Dicey. He argued that Parliament, meaning the Crown-in-Parliament, has the right to make or unmake any law whatsoever, and that no person or body has the right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament. This means that Parliament is the supreme legal authority in the UK.

议会主权的传统学说由维多利亚时代法学家 A. V. Dicey 最为著名地阐述。他认为议会，即 ‘王在议会’，有权制定或废除任何法律，任何人都无权推翻或搁置议会立法。这意味着议会是英国最高的法律权威。

Dicey’s theory contains two main limbs. First, Parliament can legislate on any subject matter and is not bound by its predecessors; one Parliament cannot entrench legislation to bind a future Parliament. Second, no court or other body can question the validity of an Act of Parliament. This remains the legal foundation of the UK constitution, even though it has been modified in practice.

Dicey 的理论包含两个主要方面。第一，议会可以就任何事项立法，并且不受前任议会约束；一届议会不能用锁定条款约束未来议会。第二，任何法院或其他机构都不得质疑议会法案的有效性。这仍然是英国

Published by TutorHao | A-Level 政治 Revision Series | aleveler.com

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