ABSTRACT
The sovereignty of Parliament is perhaps the most fundamental principle of the British constitution. The traditional, Diceyan, theory of parliamentary sovereignty or supremacy was one of continuing sovereignty. Thus the Westminster Parliament, in English law, could continue to legislate for ex-colonies, whatever the Statute of Westminster or any other Act might say. In the Westminster parliamentary system of government, whether located in the United Kingdom, there are a number of common elements. It reflects aspects of doctrinaire liberalism and authoritarianism. The origins and nature of constitutional authority, whether in a monarchy or a republic, are important. But although a formal constitution can say, as does that of Papua New Guinea, that it is derived from the popular sovereignty of the people, Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea 1975. The unity of legal continuity, and a sovereign Parliament, ensures that the diversity of a modern society, with its disparate elements, is not too diverse to function.
