UK government loses key Brexit court battle

LONDON

Britain’s government cannot unilaterally take the country out of the European Union and must allow lawmakers to vote on the matter, judges have ruled in a landmark case.

The High Court ruled on Wednesday morning that the U.K. parliament must be consulted before the country can trigger Article 50, the formal mechanism for leaving the European Union.

Ministers had said the results of June’s referendum on EU membership, in which voters opted to leave by a 52-48 percent margin, should be respected.

But judges said lawmakers cannot be bypassed in overturning the original 1972 law that took Britain into the European Communities, a precursor to the EU.

“The most fundamental rule of the U.K.’s constitution is that Parliament is sovereign and can make and unmake any law it chooses”, they said in a decision published online.

They added that the government of the day cannot override legislation enacted by parliament without a fresh vote.

The government said it would appeal the decision to the U.K. Supreme Court.

Investment banker Gina Millier, who brought the case to court, said the verdict was about “our United Kingdom and all our futures. It’s not about how anyone voted.”

"Every one of us voted for the best country and the best future,” she said in remarks outside the court building broadcast by Sky News.

“I hope – when it's read by the government and they contemplate the full judgment – that they will make the wise decision of not appealing but pressing forward and having a proper debate in our sovereign parliament, our mother of parliaments that we are so admired for all over the world."

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said the government was “disappointed” by the court’s judgement.

He told parliament: “The country voted to leave the European Union in a referendum approved by Act of Parliament. And the government is determined to respect the result of the referendum.

“We will appeal this judgment”.

A Supreme Court hearing has provisionally been set for Dec. 7, 2016. Prime Minister Theresa May had said she expected to trigger Article 50 before the end of March 2017.