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European Union Bill

If I may continue, Lord Justice Laws went on:"““It cannot stipulate as to the manner and form of any subsequent legislation.””" In other words, one Parliament cannot bind another. He continued:"““It cannot stipulate against implied repeal any more than it can stipulate against express repeal.””" That is a simple and clear principle. It is not terribly helpful to have a codification—I am concerned about that—but we do not need to say ““is sovereign””, because that poses the question of what ““sovereign”” means, as the Foreign Office pointed out. I do not think that that is a particularly helpful or constructive debate. The real issue in the Bill is referendums and holding them on whether we should go any further into the EU. I pray in aid some of the submissions that were made to the European Scrutiny Committee. Paul Craig saw clause 18 as ““sovereignty as dualism””. He said:"““It says nothing about sovereignty as primacy, and it doesn't purport to reiterate, or iterate, the parent idea of sovereignty. There is no harm in having clause 18 if you wish it as a symbolic reaffirmation of the common law principle””—" I agree that it does no harm, but I am not sure whether ““common law principle”” is right; I think that it is a constitutional principle, so I slightly disagree with him—"““that a statute has no impact in the United Kingdom unless or until it is embodied in an Act of Parliament.””" I think that Professor Hartley also made a submission to the European Scrutiny Committee—doubtless, my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Mr Cash) will correct me if I am wrong. He said:"““I think that the clause has value, because it emphasises that this is the law and this is the constitutional position. In my opinion, even without clause 18, courts would do what it says, but it would encourage and sort of strengthen them. I think that it has value even though, strictly speaking, it does not change anything.””" Although I have personal doubts as a slightly picky lawyer about the sense of including clause 18, I believe that it does no harm and it also underlines the principle that the UK Parliament has decided on and voted for membership of the European Union.