Sovereignty
New Zealand |
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The New Zealand Parliament is sovereign with no institution able to over-ride its decisions. The ability of Parliament to act is, legally, unimpeded. For example, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act is a normal piece of legislation, it is not superior law as written constitutions are in some other countries. The only thing Parliament is limited in its power are on some "entrenched" issues relating to elections. These include the length of its term, deciding on who can vote, how they vote (via secret ballot), how the country should be divided into electorates, and the make up of the Representation Commission which decides on these electorates. These issues require either 75% of all MPs to support the bill or a referendum on the issue. (However, the entrenchment of these provisions is not itself entrenched. Therefore, Parliament can repeal the entrenchment of these issues with a simple majority, then change these issues with a simple majority.)
Read more about this topic: New Zealand Parliament
Famous quotes containing the word sovereignty:
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—Virginia Woolf (18821941)
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Step forth in splendor, mortify our wolves.
Or we assume a sovereignty ourselves.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)