A Bill to provide that Community treaties, Community instruments and Community obligations shall only be binding in legal proceedings in the United Kingdom insofar as they do not conflict with a subsequent, expressly inconsitent enactment of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
This Bill seeks to modify the current constitutional position where EU law takes precedence over UK law. This is an obligation acknowledged by the European Court of Justice in many rulings since the 1960s and enforced in the UK via the European Communities Act 1972.Key areas:It aims to ensure that when Parliament adopts a law which it knows conflicts with its obligations under the European Communities Act and which contains wording to that effect (‘this enactment shall take effect notwithstanding the provisions’ of the European Communities Act), then that law should override the Act’s obligations because it is Parliament’s express intention that it should do so. It seeks to restore the traditional doctrine of implied repeal, an application of parliamentary sovereignty which has been modified by ‘constitutional’ laws such as the European Communities Act 1972 and the Human Rights Act 1998, in the manner suggested by a ruling of Lord Denning in the case of Macarthy's Ltd v Smith in 1979.
House of Commons
Sir Christopher ChopeConservative
30 October 2008
This Bill would change how EU law works in the UK by allowing later UK laws to expressly override EU obligations. It seeks to revive the idea that Parliament can repeal or displace EU rules through future Acts, rather than EU law automatically taking precedence. In effect, it aims to restore parliamentary sovereignty over the relationship between UK law and EU obligations from the European Communities Act 1972 onward.
The bill is currently at the 2nd Reading stage in the House of Commons. It originated in the Commons and is sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope; no further stages have been completed yet.
Generated 21 February 2026
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
