UK Supreme Court Rules That UK Government Can Only Trigger Process of Withdrawal from EU with Parliamentary Legislation

UK Supreme Court Rules That UK Government Can Only Trigger Process of Withdrawal from EU with Parliamentary Legislation

January 24, 2017, Covington Alert

Today, the UK Supreme Court held (by a majority of 8:3—an unprecedented 11 Justices heard the case) that the UK Government does not have the power to trigger the process of withdrawal from the EU (“Brexit”) without first obtaining Parliamentary approval in the form of an Act of Parliament. The decision is largely aligned with the Divisional Court’s ruling on November 3, 2016.