Brexit battle in legal throes

A boy wrapped in a European Union flag stands outside The Royal Courts of Justice in London during a protest against the UK’s decision to leave EU. (Photo: AFP)

The battle over Brexit reached the High Court on Thursday in a legal challenge to Prime Minister Theresa May’s right to start negotiations for Britain to leave the EU without a vote in parliament.

The move could delay Brexit if successful and set up an unprecedented constitutional face-off between the courts and the government.

It was launched after Britain’s June 23 referendum, which saw 52 per cent of Britons voting to leave the European Union in a result that plunged the value of the pound and raised global economic fears.

The case seeks to challenge May’s assertion that she has the right to trigger notification of Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, which would spark two years of negotiations on Britain’s departure from the bloc.

The government says it has “royal prerogative”, a type of executive privilege, to negotiate Brexit without needing a legally-binding parliamentary vote.

“The issue in this case is not whether this country should remain a member of the EU, or leave the EU,” said lawyer David Pannick, acting for the individuals who brought the challenge. “The question is whether the government may take action unilaterally to notify, or whether it needs parliamentary approval to do so.” He said deploying the royal prerogative was unlawful because under the European Communities Act 1972, it was for the parliament to decide whether or not to maintain the rights contained within it.

A few protesters for and against the legal action rallied outside the court in London as lawyers and claimants arrived for the first hearing.

A man holding a star-spangled blue EU flag shouted “Parliament must vote!” and another distributed leaflets urging people to “Uphold the Brexit vote”.

Behind the legal challenge are an investment fund manager, a hairdresser and an expatriate living in France who argue such a process cannot begin without a law passed by the parliament.

Gina Miller, co-founder of investment fund SCM Private, wants parliament to legislate on the terms of Brexit before May can trigger Article 50.

“This is not about whether we should stay or leave, this is actually about how we leave,” said Miller on Wednesday.

Although May has accused the claimants of trying to “subvert” the result of the referendum, the prime minister on Wednesday signalled she would let parliament scrutinise her Brexit plan before starting the formal EU exit process. But she stopped short of agreeing to a vote for MPs on her plan before the government triggers Article 50.

Asked in the House of Commons if there would be a vote, May said, “The idea that parliament somehow wasn’t going to be able to discuss, debate, question issues around (Brexit) was frankly completely wrong.”

She made it clear that any scrutiny would not change the outcome of the referendum, telling MPs, “The UK will be leaving the European Union.”