Book contents
- A.V. Dicey and the Common Law Constitutional Tradition
- Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law
- A.V. Dicey and the Common Law Constitutional Tradition
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Frontispiece
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Biggest Legal Mind We Have
- 3 Young Dicey in Oxford
- 4 Dicey the Common Lawyer
- 5 Dicey and the Art and Science of Law
- 6 Lectures Introductory to the Law of the Constitution
- 7 Dicey’s Legal Constitution
- 8 The Law of Parliamentary Sovereignty
- 9 The Supremacy of Ordinary Law
- 10 Sovereignty and the Spirit of Legality
- 11 Dicey’s Administrative Law Blind Spot
- 12 Towards a Discursive Legalism
- 13 The Constitution in the Common Law Tradition
- Appendix Was Dicey Diceyan?
- Bibliography
- Index
10 - Sovereignty and the Spirit of Legality
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2021
Book contents
- A.V. Dicey and the Common Law Constitutional Tradition
- Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law
- A.V. Dicey and the Common Law Constitutional Tradition
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Frontispiece
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Biggest Legal Mind We Have
- 3 Young Dicey in Oxford
- 4 Dicey the Common Lawyer
- 5 Dicey and the Art and Science of Law
- 6 Lectures Introductory to the Law of the Constitution
- 7 Dicey’s Legal Constitution
- 8 The Law of Parliamentary Sovereignty
- 9 The Supremacy of Ordinary Law
- 10 Sovereignty and the Spirit of Legality
- 11 Dicey’s Administrative Law Blind Spot
- 12 Towards a Discursive Legalism
- 13 The Constitution in the Common Law Tradition
- Appendix Was Dicey Diceyan?
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The formalist critique of A. V. Dicey’s account of the rule of law states that Dicey in effect elevated parliamentary sovereignty over the substantive ideals associated with the value of legality leaving the rule of law to perform one single function: ensuring that each exercise of power is authorised by a law. Because Parliament can make or unmake any law, the rule of law is thus reduced to a thin, procedural or formal requirement that may authorise laws that offend the substantive values of legal justice.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A.V. Dicey and the Common Law Constitutional TraditionA Legal Turn of Mind, pp. 259 - 298Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020