Could the Sewel Convention scupper Brexit, asks Michael Zander QC
- The Scottish intervention in the Brexit appeal case.
Triggering Art 50 to start the process of withdrawal from the EU requires not only an Act of Parliament but the consent of the Scottish Parliament according to the 58-page written case submitted by the Lord Advocate in the Supreme Court Brexit case appeal. If the Supreme Court made that part of its judgment in the case being argued this week, the political consequences would be far-reaching.
The Supreme Court received written arguments from all three devolved governments—Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland (accessible on the Supreme Court’s website, as is also the government’s reply).
The Northern Ireland submissions supported the UK government’s contention that no Act of Parliament was required to trigger Art 50 but, if that was wrong, it could be done without the consent of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The Counsel General’s submission for Wales argued that the Divisional Court’s decision that triggering Art 50 required an Act of Parliament
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