EU court to rule on whether Britain can cancel Article 50
EUROPEAN judges will rule on whether Britain can cancel Brexit on the eve of the crunch Commons vote on Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, it was announced yesterday.
The timing will be seen by Brexiteers as a bid by the European Court of Justice to influence Britain’s Brexit debate.
Monday’s ruling will be delivered less than a week after an ECJ advocate general issued a “legal opinion” that the UK can unilaterally revoke its Article 50 notification of leaving the EU.
Manuel Campos SanchezBordona rejected claims that Article 50 can be cancelled only with approval from every other European member state.
The opinion of the court’s top legal adviser is not binding – but it is likely to be endorsed in the ECJ judges’ final ruling at 8am on Monday. Remain campaigners said if the court agrees that Britain can unilaterally revoke Brexit, it could be a chance to “stop the clock” on leaving because it would be a clear alternative to the choice backing the Prime Minister’s deal or leaving without one.
The case was brought in Scotland by a cross-party group of politicians and referred to the ECJ after Government attempts to stop the move were defeated.
The group was supported by anti-Brexit lawyer Jolyon Maugham QC, director of the Good Law Project.
He said: “I am very pleased that the court in Luxembourg has recognised the extreme importance of its answer and its urgency for the parliament.”