Learn English – the adjective for “supersedure” or “primacy”

adjectiveslegalesesingle-word-requests

Is there an adjective that can express the concept of a law that supersedes other laws?

I would prefer a single adjective that has legal connotations, although a present participle will suffice. The phrases supreme law and overruling law approximate this concept, but supreme merely seems to indicate significance, and overruling implies direct contradiction, rather than "displacement in favor of another" as supersedure indicates (the laws do not run completely contrary to one another, but one is more appropriate and takes precedent). Also, the phrases the law which has primacy over other laws and the law which supersedes other laws are too wordy and awkward for my intended usage in a paper about a certain contentious Supreme Court decision.

Is there an adjectival form of "primacy" or "supersedure", or another adjective which accurately describes this legal usage? Here is the sort of context in which I intend to use such an adjective:

The ruling demonstrated disregard for the ________ constitution/law/legal right.

Best Answer

I would imagine the simplest way to do it would be simply superseding; but since you’re looking for more legalistic-sounding terms, there is:

The ruling demonstrated disregard for the supersessory constitution/law/legal right.

The OED defines supersessory (or its synonym, supersessive) as:

Having the quality or character of supersession; taking the place of something or someone displaced

– and gives a citation that appears to me (who am not very well-versed in US law, I should note!) to be quite parallel to what you’re looking for:

His decrees are always in the form of rescripts, which conclude with a general supercessory clause, contrariis quibuscunque non obstantibus. (The Monthly Review (London), Sept. 205, 1789)

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