High Court ruling on Article 50: Statement

Author (Corporate)
Series Title
Series Details 03.11.16
Publication Date 03/11/2016
Content Type

In an important judgment given on 3 November 2016 the High Court in London ruled that only Parliament has the authority to trigger Article 50 of the European Union treaty, the legal route for Britain to leave the EU. This means that the UK government could not trigger Article 50 without involving parliament.

The judges highlighted that the judgment was not a political issue. It was purely constitutional.

In response to the judgment, a UK government spokesperson said: 'The government is disappointed by the Court’s judgment. The country voted to leave the European Union in a referendum approved by Act of Parliament. And the government is determined to respect the result of the referendum. We will appeal this judgment'.

The appeal will be heard at the UK's highest court, the Supreme Court, in December 2016, with a ruling expected in January 2017.

Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis said that unless the High Court’s decision was overturned, a full Act of Parliament involving both Houses would now be required to trigger Article 50.

Source Link Link to Main Source https://www.gov.uk/government/news/high-court-ruling-on-article-50-statement
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