The High Court of London has ordered the British Government to get the Parliament’s approval first, if they want to initiate Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to launch the process of quitting the European Union, which is also known as the Brexit.
For those of you who don’t know, the High Court has the right to settle disputes between the Government and the Parliament. To be more specific, 8 of the 11 judges voted for this decision. At the same time, they underline the fact that this is not about revising the results of the Brexit referendum. This is all about the legal side of the process. Even though the government has the right to change the agreements, this is forbidden if the decision may affect the people’s rights.
According to the High Court, the Brexit will inevitably affect the UK legislation, which is definitely something that will affect each and every British citizen. That’s why the Parliament’s approval is a must in this case. However, the High Court allowed the Government to launch the procedure without the consent of the local parliaments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
There is another interesting issues concerning the procedure of quitting the EU. The thing is, Article 50 reads that a EU member can apply for an exit from the EU according to the country’s constitution. But the problem is that Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system but it doesn’t have a written constitution. This created a loophole for the adversaries of the Brexit, and they decided to go to the High Court to resolve the dispute by letting the parliament decide on the Brexit.
Prime Minister Theresa May responded to this decision by saying that even though she respects the decision made by the High Court, the Government is not going to change their mind. She is going to launch the procedure by the end of March, irrespective of the decision made by the Parliament.
