Parliament and the Law, Third Edition, Hart Studies in Constitutional Law

Abstract

This is another useful volume in a highly useful series. It is particularly helpful to have a discussion of privilege, exclusive cognizance, and the law by a senior clerk, Eve Samson. Having the inside view set down on the page is a useful resource. It would have been good to have a little more on the latest proposals to enforce contempt of parliament, because an unenforceable privilege risks a cycle of inevitable moribundity. That apart, this is an enormously valuable contribution even if there is the occasional comment that is not necessarily the final word on the matter (e.g. ‘The courts and parliament will always have a strained relationship’ is not necessarily the characterization that everybody would attribute—there will always be an inevitably constructive tension keeping the three parts of the separation of powers in their places, but ‘strain’ implies a degree of conflict that is not necessarily either inevitable or desirable).