High Court Rules Only Parliament Can Invoke Article 50

Are you ready for Brexit redux? The High Court has ruled that only Parliament has the power to invoke Article 50, not Prime Minister Theresa May. In rejecting the government’s argument, the chief justice said, “the most fundamental rule of the UK constitution is that parliament is sovereign…The court does not accept the argument put forward by the government. There is nothing in the 1972 European Communities Act to support it. In the judgment of the court the argument is contrary both to the language used by parliament in the 1972 act, and to the fundamental 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 government has announced that it will appeal this decision to the Supreme Court and a hearing is already scheduled for the beginning of December.

All the pressure now falls back on Parliament and that pressure will be intense. Already MPs are indicating that the government must lay out its negotiating positions before the potential vote. That, of course, will destroy what little leverage May has in negotiating with the EU as her positions will then be public. MPs on both sides of the aisle who had originally opposed Brexit have to decide whether they will stand against it again or respect the will of the people. And it may even raise the possibility of an early election. The decision also causes a rift among the pro-Brexit crowd, some of whom will look at this as an end run around their vote while others always wanted to ensure the primacy of Parliament. Of course, the Supreme Court could reverse the decision and we would be right back to where we are now. For some, that might even be a relief.