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.
