header-logo header-logo

Brexit—a constitutional crisis?

03 October 2019 / Simon Parsons
Issue: 7858 / Categories: Features , Brexit , Constitutional law
printer mail-detail
8710
Simon Parsons looks at the prorogation decision & the constitutional role of the courts

There are three options in respect of Brexit. First, a soft Brexit with the UK remaining connected to the EU economic arrangements but out of the political arrangements. Second, a hard Brexit with the UK out of the economic arrangements and political arrangements but with a withdrawal agreement including a transitional period of remaining in the EU followed by a Canada-style free trade agreement. There would also have to be some arrangement that does the same job as the Irish backstop but which is acceptable to the Tories and DUP. The third option is crashing out of the EU without a withdrawal agreement, so the UK would be out the economic and political arrangements and would leave on the exit day without a transition period and then trade on WTO terms. There would be no backstop and so the Good Friday Agreement could be at risk. Alternatively, the UK could unilaterally revoke Brexit by operation of Art 50 of

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll