Supreme Court hears landmark Article 50 case
The Supreme Court will hear arguments for whether parliamentary consent is needed before triggering Article 50 on Monday, in a landmark legal case.
The highest court in the country will hear the government’s appeal against November’s ruling by the High Court which said only Parliament could trigger Article 50, which starts a two-year clock on Brexit negotiations with the EU.
The hearing is the largest panel convened since the Law Lords was made in 1876, according to Lord Neuberger, the court’s president, as all 11 Supreme Court justices will hear the case.
It is expected to last four days, but the ruling is not due until January.
The initial case was brought to the High Court by Gina Miller, a fund manager, and hairdresser Deir Dos Santos who questioned the prime minister's prerogative powers to trigger Article 50.
The government has said that it is currently preparing legislation to trigger Article 50, despite the High Court ruling, while Theresa May, the Prime Minister, said that it had not disrupted her timetable to trigger the clause by the end of March.
In November, legal representatives from the Scottish and Welsh governments were granted permission to address the Supreme Court, after they said that triggering Article 50 may need permission from devolved governments.
Representation from expats living abroad and from the Independent Workers Union will also address the court.
Previously the other legal challenges to Brexit were rejected by the Northern Ireland High Court in October, ruling that the 1998 Good Friday Agreement did not prevent the government from triggering Article 50.