UK Supreme Court decides parliament dispute
Despite only being around for the past ten years, the Supreme Court of Britain has recently stepped into the legal limelight and firmly asserted its relatively new powers. On September 24th, the British Supreme Court handed down its decision on a legal challenge to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to shut down Parliament in the run-up of the Brexit deadline. Johnson has made no pretense about his intentions for this move to force the no-deal Brexit result that he has been promising. However, due to the British Supreme Court’s recent decision stating that Johnson acted unlawfully when he shut down Parliament for this purpose, British lawmakers now have a good opening to try and prevent Johnson’s no-deal from going through. This rejection of Johnson’s actions, alongside his recent loss of a working majority in Parliament, will likely lead to a rejection of his government and possibly even bring about a general election. This will even further complicate the already tangled mess that is contemporary British politics.
As a result of the tangled legal mess that is Brexit, the British Supreme Court has had plenty of opportunities to define its powers and create new law as those seeking answers to questions raised by the Brexit process have turned to the court for a final decision. In 2017, the British Supreme Court ruled that Theresa May had to get Parliament to approve any Brexit agreement made with the EU before it could be adopted. This decision eventually led to May failing to pass her Brexit deal four times and resigning as Prime Minister. This most recent decision by the court also has the interesting consequence of establishing some degree of control or oversight to Parliament by the court. In English law, the Parliament is typically considered sovereign inviolable in its authority over practically all matters. The court seems to be challenging this sovereignty somewhat. It will be interesting to see what long term legal ramifications this may have on the British legal system.
Once again, a no-deal Brexit is likely to be narrowly avoided by a UK government struggling to regain is coherency and composure; lost to this years long political farce.
Joseph Doner - Political Editor