Skeleton Argument
Group 3 - Representing Secretary state of Justice
Terry Keene v Secretary State of Justice
Facts
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Parliament passed the Representation (Candidature) Act 2018 (RCA) in 2018
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S 12 provides that any candidate at Parliamentary elections must have been resident
in the constituency for which they seek election for no less than 2 years prior to
general election date.
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Section 35 of the RCA further provides:
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(1) No amendment or repeal of this Act shall be valid without the consent of a 75%
majority of those voting separately in each House of Parliament. A higher court shall
have power to declare invalid legislation passed otherwise than in accordance with
this section. The Parliament Acts 1911 to 1949 shall not apply to the provisions of
this Act
Three years after the passing of the RCA, following a change of government and subsequent
review of electoral law, Parliament passed the Electoral Reform Act 2021(‘ERA’)
ERA received Royal Assent in March 2021
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Does not explicitly refer to RCA
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S 1 provides that any candidate at Parliamentary elections must have been resident
in the constituency for which they seek election for not less than five years prior to
the date of the relevant election.
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Passed through the House of Lords with a majority in excess of 75%, but with only a
very small majority in the House of Commons (substantially less than 75%).
Terry Keene sought to stand as a candidate for the constituency of West Loamshire in elections
to Parliament held in May 2021.
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However, he was informed that he was ineligible to stand as a candidate as he did
not fulfil the residence requirement laid down by s.1 ERA.
Keene has now appealed to the Supreme Court for a judicial review in a ‘leapfrog’ appeal.
Arguments for secretary state of justice1. Dicey defines doctrine of parliament sovereignty, “that Parliament … has, under the English
constitution, the right to make…” in ‘An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the
Constitution, 1885’. The definition includes that no Parliament may be bound by a
predecessor or bind a successor – a particular Act of Parliament cannot be entrenched, or be
given a ‘higher’ status than any other Act.
2. Doctrine of Implied repeal - In Ellen Street Estates v Minister of Health [1934] KB 590, a later
Act of Parliament will impliedly repeal the provisions of an earlier Act to the extent of any
inconsistency between the two Acts.
3. The case of Attorney General for New South Wales v Trethowan [1932] AC 526 is persuasive
only and does not necessarily bind the UK courts,
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Legislature of New South Wales cannot be seen as analogous as the Parliament of
New South Wales is a subordinate legislature in that it was created by an Act of the
UK Parliament (the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865).
4. In R (Jackson) v Attorney General [2005] UKHL 56, Lord Hope said:
“It is a fundamental aspect of the rule of sovereignty that no Parliament can bind its
successors. There are no means whereby … it can entrench an Act of Parliament.”
Conclusion
Therefore, according to the arguments we conclude that S.1 of the Electoral Reform Act 2021
repealed S. 12 of the Representation Candidature Act 2018 and hence the Appellant was not eligible
to stand as an Eco-Friendly Liberty Party candidate for the constituency of West Loamshire in 2021.