This paper assesses whether the
traditionalist views held by Dicey, Blackstone and Jennings et al, still hold weight in contemporary
Britain following enactment of the European Communities Act and the Factortame Merchant Shipping Case. It describes the
traditionalist conventions, such as the enrolled bill rule, Heuston's manner and form thesis and implied
repeal. It then looks at the UK court's attitude to the development of the common law in relation to these principles according to the primacy of European legislation and asks whether the British constition has been indirectly amended as a result.