The UK Government has lost a landmark legal challenge against its right to use royal prerogative powers to trigger Article 50 and Britain’s withdrawal from the EU without a vote in Parliament. Handing down its verdict at the Royal Courts of Justice this morning, the High Court reported that it ‘does not accept’ the Government’s legal justification for triggering Article 50 with on the basis of the national referendum result alone.
Contrary to ‘fundamental constitutional principles’
Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas said: ‘In the judgement of the court the argument is both contrary to the language used by Parliament in the 1972 Act and to the fundamental constitutional principles of the sovereignty of Parliament and the absence of any entitlement on the part of the Crown to change domestic law by the exercise of its prerogative powers. The court expressly accepts the principal argument of the claimants.’ The claimants, led by investment manager Gina Miller, argued that the rights endowed to British citizens by the 1972 European Communities Act could not be taken away without the explicit approval of Parliament, and that MPs must therefore vote on and approve the decision to leave the EU before Article 50 negotiations can begin.
Appeal imminent
The Government has already signaled its intention to appeal the High Court decision, with the case now headed to the Supreme Court in December. It is understood that the appeal has been fast-tracked in light of Prime Minister May’s promise to begin Brexit negotiations by end of March next year. A spokesperson for the Government said: ‘The country voted to leave the European Union in a referendum approved by an act of Parliament. And the government is determined to respect the result of the referendum.’
Sources: The Lawyer; Wall Street Journal; BBC
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