Blackburn v Attorney General, 1971 EWCA Civ 7
Citation:Blackburn v Attorney General, 1971 EWCA Civ 7
Rule of thumb: Is it a breach of sovereignty of Parliament for the UK to enter into associations with other countries where binding laws can be passed abroad & Courts abroad make binding Judgments? No, because this sovereignty has not been permanently given away & the UK can still withdraw from the association of states.
Judgment:
This case affirmed the nature of Great Britain’s relationship with the EU as being ‘an association of states’ – it affirmed that although the UK had given up some of its power to the EU to pass binding laws in the UK, the EU was just merely an association of states and a trade agreement rather than sovereign. It affirmed that Parliament still had the ability to withdraw from the Act of Parliament joining this trade agreement meaning that the ‘sovereignty of Parliament’ was not given up, albeit as Lord Denning affirmed in dissenting, sovereignty had been diluted. The Court confirmed that it would not advise the Acts agreeing to entry of the EU (the EC as it was known then) should be repealed. It further affirmed the principle of ‘independence from colonisation’ – it affirmed that Britain’s overseas territories overseas and dominions were entitled to independence from the UK, if they should desire it, and that once the decision of independence was taken then it was final, with the system of territories, colonies and dominions no longer being in existence, ‘Can anyone imagine that Parliament could or would reverse that statute? Take the Acts which have granted independence to the dominions and territories overseas. Can anyone imagine that Parliament could or would reverse those laws and take away their independence? Most clearly not. Freedom once given cannot be taken away’, Lord Denning
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.