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The Factortame case was a landmark constitutional case in the United Kingdom, which confirmed the primacy of European Union law over English law. The European Union is unique among international organisations in having a complex and highly developed system of internal law which has direct effect within the legal systems of its member states. ...
English law is a formal term of art that describes the law for the time being in force in England and Wales. ...
Background
The case first came to prominence when a Spanish fishing company called Factortame appealed in the UK courts against restrictions imposed on them by the UK government under the Merchant Shipping Act 1988. A section of the Act prevented companies using foreign ships registered as British vessels from fishing in UK waters. Factortame's argument was that they were permitted to fish under the law of the European Economic Community (which became the EU in 1992). The European Community (EC), most important of three European Communities, was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ...
1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...
First Instance The case reached the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, which obtained an injunction from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to temporarily suspend the Secretary of State for Transport from enforcing the particular part of the Act. However, on 22 March 1989, this was overturned by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales on the basis that the constitution did not give any court the right to suspend Acts of Parliament, and this was confirmed by the House of Lords, the highest court in the UK. Her Majestys High Court of Justice (known more simply as the High Court) is, together with the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in England and Wales: see Courts of England and Wales. ...
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is formally known as the Court of Justice of the European Communities, i. ...
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. ...
March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in leap years). ...
1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Her Majestys Court of Appeal is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords above it. ...
This article is about the British House of Lords. ...
House of Lords The House of Lords ruling that they did not have the power to suspend Acts of Parliament was then referred to the European Court of Justice by the House of Lords in 1990, as was legally required. The ECJ in June 1990 ruled that national courts could strike down laws which contravened EU law. Consequently, the House of Lords ruled in favour of Factortame, meaning that in effect the Merchant Fishing Act 1988 was struck down. In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. ...
This article is about the year. ...
Relevence This appears to be a breach of Parliamentary sovereignty, which holds that Parliament is the supreme law making body and no-one can override its legislation. Factortame is an example of law courts not acting by the law created by Parliament. Effectively, the House of Lords has been given the power to strike down Acts of Parliament which contravene EU law. Parliamentary sovereignty, parliamentary supremacy, or legislative supremacy is a concept in constitutional law that applies to some parliamentary democracies. ...
Sovereignty With regards to sovereignty, the case can be interpreted in more than one way. It can be interpreted as not being an erosion of Parliament's (and therefore the UK's) sovereignty, because Parliament could repeal the European Communities Act (i.e., leave the EU) with a majority vote. However, as this seems very unlikely to happen either now or in the future, it can be interpreted as a permanent loss of political sovereignty. Although legally the UK could leave the EU, politically that is very unlikely, especially considering how complex it would be to disentangle the UK from the EU. The European Communities Act (1972 c. ...
The case is important for two reasons. Firstly it re-asserts the primacy of EU law, and the ability of the ECJ to overule domestic legislation. But it also changes the balance of power in the constitution. For the first time ever, the judiciary is able to overturn the will of the legislature, even though it has knowledge of its express wish. The ECJ should not be mistaken for the European Court of Human Rights, a Council of Europe institution. ...
The Factortame case is often cited as evidence for the erosion of UK sovereignty and independence by movements such as the Referendum Party. The Referendum Party were a single-issue party in the United Kingdom formed to contest the 1997 General Election. ...
See also The European Union is unique among international organisations in having a complex and highly developed system of internal law which has direct effect within the legal systems of its member states. ...
The Constitution of the United Kingdom is an area of uncodified law, consisting of both written and unwritten sources. ...
This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
Further reading and references - HTML version of the judgement as approved by the court
- Report on the judgement
- Extract of the judgement with some analysis
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