All eleven Justices will hear the appeals, from courts in Scotland, England and Wales, and Northern Ireland. Proceedings begin on 17 September, are scheduled to last three days and will be live-streamed and available to watch on the Supreme Court website.
Last week, the Court of Session (Inner House) held the Prime Minister (PM) acted unlawfully when advising HM the Queen to prorogue Parliament because its purpose was to ‘stymie’ Parliament. Prior to this, the High Court of England and Wales held that the matter was non-justiciable. Similarly, the High Court in Belfast held last week that the court did not have authority to decide on a claim that a no-deal Brexit and imposition of hard border would break the Good Friday peace agreement, as it was a political matter.
On Monday this week, PM Boris Johnson sat down for a Brexit working lunch with EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. EU officials have dismissed the PM’s claims that ‘huge’ progress is being made on Brexit talks and say they are still waiting for plausible suggestions from the UK on the Northern Ireland backstop. The PM’s self-imposed 30-day deadline to produce a viable alternative to the backstop (as promised to German Chancellor Angela Merkel) is due to end on Friday.
Meanwhile, the PM has said he will refuse to comply with the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019, which compels him to call for an Art 50 extension, prompting MPs to warn he could be sent to sent to prison for contempt of court. However, proceedings were launched in the Court of Session last week, under which the Clerk of Court could sign the request in Johnson’s stead, if the court so orders. The proceedings rely on the court’s special jurisdiction of nobile officium, to make an order it considers equitable.
Finally, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has warned that the UK faces losing billions in exports earnings if it does not secure trade agreements with key markets before a no-deal Brexit. As a member of the EU, the UK has access to approximately 40 trade agreements through which member states obtain preferential market access in about 70 countries. Unless finalised or negotiated before a no-deal Brexit, the UK would lose access to preferential trade agreements and would have to export under World Trade Organization Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariffs.
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