Book Review: Allison's The English Historical Constitution: Continuity, Change and European Effects

---

To access the full article, please click here

In my review of John W.F. Allison’s The English Historical Constitution: Continuity, Change and European Effects, I examine his compelling argument that the English constitution is best understood as a product of historical development, not static analytical categorization. Rejecting Dicey’s rigid legalism, Allison employs a historical method to demonstrate how English constitutional principles—such as parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law—have undergone subtle but significant transformation. He argues that these principles have adapted to democratization and European integration while preserving the illusion of continuity.

Allison insightfully explores the enduring symbolic role of the Crown, the judiciary’s accommodation of EU law despite the doctrine of sovereignty, and the evolution of the rule of law from a formal to a substantive principle, culminating in the Human Rights Act 1998. While I commend the book’s rich synthesis of historical and legal perspectives, I note its relative silence on the role of constitutional conventions and the practical powers of the Crown today. Nonetheless, Allison’s work is a significant contribution to our understanding of English constitutionalism as a living historical project.

Suggested citation:

Book Review: Allison's The English Historical Constitution: Continuity, Change and European Effects (Cambridge university Press, 2007) 50 American Journal of Legal History 102, 102-104 (2010).