What did John Austin mean by parliamentary sovereignty?

For John Austin, parliamentary sovereignty refers to the concept that a nation’s parliament acts as the supreme organ of the state. In his view, this body possesses the ultimate authority to enact laws that are binding upon everyone else within the political community.1

Key characteristics of this sovereignty include:

• Unbound Authority: The parliament is not itself bound by the laws it creates and retains the power to change those laws at will.1
• Habitual Obedience: Austin defined the sovereign as a person or group to whom the bulk of a society renders habitual obedience, while that sovereign does not habitually obey any other superior.23
• Legislative Supremacy: He argued that law is essentially a command from this sovereign, backed by the threat of sanction.23

Austin’s model was largely inspired by the system of government in 19th-century Great Britain. However, he acknowledged that this definition did not apply universally, as it conflicted with systems like that of the United States, where constitutional restrictions and judicial review limit legislative power.1