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03 October 2019 / Simon Parsons
Issue: 7858 / Categories: Features , Brexit , Constitutional law
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Brexit—a constitutional crisis?

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

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
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