Brexit – Article 50 Supreme Court Judgement

In the landmark case the Supreme Court found by a majority of 8-3, that Parliament must vote on whether the Government can trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and formally begin negotiations to leave the EU.

This is a huge blow to Teresa May and the Government who argued that they could use the royal prerogative to invoke Article 50 and begin the process of the UK formally leaving the EU. The court found that the Government cannot use executive powers (the royal prerogative) to override the rights enshrined in domestic law by statute, in this case the European Communities Act 1972 that took the UK into the EU, and that doing so would undermine parliamentary sovereignty.

The Prime Minister, Teresa May, has said that she will respect the court’s decision and prepare a White Paper, a policy document produced by the Government that sets out their proposals for future legislation. It is expected that a bill will be prepared very quickly in order for Teresa May to stick to her timetable of triggering Article 50 in March 2017.

There can of course be delays as the bill would need to be passed through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

We will continue to keep you updated.