Abrogation in public law

In United Kingdom public law, abrogation refers to the repealing, annulment or overriding of a law, legal right or constitutional value. The term is also used in administrative litigation to describe the giving away of a right, power or value, when a public body unlawfully delegates its power or fails to carry out its mandatory responsibilities or duties. Unless required by primary legislation, abrogating such a responsibility or duty amounts to an unlawful delegation of power or a fettering of public discretion, and in international cases it can involve an unconstitutional delegation of power to a foreign government or other sovereign power. Abrogation is a conceptual framework frequently used by the courts to evaluate the lawful limits of state power. It is a protected value at common law that Parliament has legislative supremacy, and although Parliament may alter or limit the ambit of judicial review, it cannot abrogate the court review process entirely.