On 8 February, the Supreme Court handed down its unanimous judgment in Re Allister [2023] UKSC 5. What follows is an attempt to clarify the judgment’s significance for the doctrine of constitutional statutes, as first canvassed by Laws LJ in Thoburn v Sunderland City Council [2002] EWHC 195 (Admin).
I think that the Court’s remarks inRe Allistercan be read to show that there is no distinct doctrine of constitutional statutes in UK law. On one side, the Court seems to accept that the principle of legality—the interpretative presumption that Parliament does not wish to legislate against fundamental constitutional rights (R v Home Secretary, ex p Pierson[1998] AC 539;R v Home Secretary, ex p Simms[2000] 2 AC 115)—can extend to such rights even when they are created by statute. On the other side, the judgment affirms Parliament’s ability to enact ‘subject…
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