Blow to Brexit as British High Court rules parliament vote needed to trigger EU exit
Britain’s High Court brought government plans for leaving the European Union screeching to a halt on Thursday, ruling that the prime minister can’t trigger the UK’s exit from the bloc without approval from parliament.
The government said it would go to the Supreme Court to challenge the ruling, which has major constitutional as well as practical implications.
We will appeal this judgment ... the country voted to leave the European Union in a referendum approved by act of parliament
The pound, which has lost about a fifth of its value since the June decision to leave, shot up on the verdict, rising 1.1 per cent to US$1.2430.
Britons voted by a margin of 52 to 48 per cent to leave the EU, a process known as Brexit. Several claimants challenged the plans for Brexit in a case hinging on the balance of power between Parliament and the government.
Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will launch exit negotiations with the EU by March 31. She is relying on a power called the royal prerogative that lets the government withdraw from international treaties.
Claimants argue that leaving the EU will remove rights, including free movement within the bloc, and say that can’t be done without parliament’s approval. Three senior judges ruled that “the government does not have the power under the Crown’s prerogative” to trigger the official exit process.