JurisTalk | The New Parliamentary Sovereignty

• In-person event
• D492, Loeb Building, Carleton University
• 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6

Is parliamentary sovereignty still a useful concept in the post-Charter era? Once a central principle of Canadian constitutional law, parliamentary sovereignty has come to be viewed by many as being of little more than historical interest. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that the doctrine has received relatively little scholarly attention since the enactment of the Charter. But while it is undoubtedly true that the more absolute versions of parliamentary sovereignty did not survive the Charter’s entrenchment, we should not be too quick to dismiss the principle’s relevance entirely.

In this paper, Prof. Vanessa MacDonnell suggests that some variant of parliamentary sovereignty continues to subsist in Canadian constitutional law. She also suggests that the study of parliamentary sovereignty reveals an important connection between the intensity of judicial review and the degree to which Parliament focused on the constitutional issues raised by a law during the legislative process. Parliament can expand its sphere of autonomous decision-making power relative to courts by showing that it is proactive about securing and promoting constitutional rights.

About the Speaker

Vanessa MacDonnell is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law – Common Law section at the University of Ottawa. She is an expert in constitutional theory, criminal law and the law of evidence. Vanessa’s current research examines how political actors interpret and implement constitutional rights. Her work is comparative and draws on constitutional law and theory from Canada, the United States, Germany, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Recent papers have focussed on rethinking the concept of parliamentary sovereignty, developing a theory of quasi-constitutional legislation, and probing the role of civil servants in the implementation of constitutional rights. Vanessa is also completing a project on the role of the jury in contemporary criminal law.