The New Constitutional Role of the Judiciary

Abstract

Over the last few decades, the United Kingdom has experienced a profound – if quiet – constitutional transformation. But these developments have hardly been appreciated within broader public debates, which remain rooted in/anchored to notions of parliamentary sovereignty. In this paper, we describe the broad contours of constitutional change in the UK over the last decades. We also ask the question, what can and should courts do when faced with ‘unconstitutional’ legislation? We present the case for the development of a modest range of new constitutional review powers for the courts in the coming years.