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''R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union'' is a United Kingdom constitutional law case decided by the United Kingdom Supreme Court on 24 January 2017, which ruled that the
British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...
(the executive) might not initiate withdrawal from the European Union by formal notification to the
Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
as prescribed by
Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union Withdrawal from the European Union is the legal and political process whereby an EU member state ceases to be a member of the Union. Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union ( TEU) states that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from t ...
without an
Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...
giving the government
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
's permission to do so. Two days later, the government responded by bringing to Parliament the
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 (c. 9) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to empower the Prime Minister to give to the Council of the European Union the formal notice – required by Article 50 of t ...
for first reading in the House of Commons on 26 January 2017. The case is informally referred to as "the ''Miller'' case" or "''Miller I''" (to differentiate with Miller's later Brexit-related case against the Government, ''Miller II''). The Supreme Court's decision was given on appeal from the High Court's ruling that the Crown's foreign affairs prerogative, which is exercised by the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
led by the
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
, may not be used to nullify rights that Parliament has enacted through primary legislation. The case was seen as having constitutional significance in deciding the scope of the
royal prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in th ...
in foreign affairs. The Supreme Court also ruled that devolved legislatures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have no legal right to veto the act. The government's appeal was against the High Court order dated 7 November 2016 that formally declared: "The Secretary of State does not have power under the Crown's prerogative to give notice pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union for the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union." The
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
heard the appeal from 5 December 2016 to 8 December 2016, and, by a majority of 8–3, upheld the High Court ruling, finding that authorisation by Parliament was required for the invocation of Article 50. The case was intervened by the
Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...
and the
Counsel General for Wales The Counsel General for Wales is the Welsh Government's Law Officer (akin to the role of Attorney general in other jurisdictions using the Common law), which means the government's chief legal adviser and representative in the courts. In add ...
for the Scottish and
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
governments (respectively as ''the Scottish'' and ''Welsh Ministers''), and applicants for judicial review in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
also had their three separate applications considered together with this case, all of whom argued that the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...
, the
National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...
and the
Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = S ...
all had to consent to the invocation of Article 50. In each case this was unanimously rejected by the court.


Facts

Following a referendum held on 23 June 2016, in which 51.9% of votes cast were in favour of leaving the EU, the UK government stated its intention to invoke
Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union Withdrawal from the European Union is the legal and political process whereby an EU member state ceases to be a member of the Union. Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union ( TEU) states that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from t ...
(the formal procedure for withdrawing) on 29 March 2017. On the Monday following the referendum, three academics (Nick Barber, Tom Hickman and Jeff King) published a blog which argued that an Act of Parliament would be necessary before the Government could give notice to leave the EU. A few days later David Pannick, Baron Pannick, a columnist for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'', asked whether an Act of Parliament was needed before notification could lawfully be given of the UK's intention to leave, and cited the arguments of Barber, Hickman and King in agreeing with them that an Act of Parliament was required. The government argued that the use of prerogative powers to enact the referendum result was constitutionally proper and consistent with domestic law whereas the opposing view was that the exercise of prerogative powers would undermine the European Communities Act 1972 and would set aside rights previously established by Parliament.


Arguments

Gina Miller and other claimants had sought permission to bring an action in the High Court for
judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...
on whether the UK government was entitled to notify an intention to leave the European Union under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), as amended (the
Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
and
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
Treaties), without a vote or deliberative debate in Parliament. David Davis, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, argued that the possibility to trigger Article 50 was based on the royal prerogative and so any consultation of elected members of parliament was unnecessary. Miller contended that, if notification under Article 50 were to be invoked to leave the European Union, it would effectively nullify a series of Acts of Parliament. It was a constitutional principle that Acts of Parliament could not be changed without the consent of Parliament. The Secretary of State did not contend that the Referendum Act 2015 supplied a statutory power for the Crown to give notice under Article 50. The Court observed that he was right not to do so, because any argument to that effect would have been untenable as a matter of statutory interpretation of the 2015 Act and stated:


High Court judgment


Background

There was dispute over whether the decision to invoke Article 50 was the prerogative of the government, as the Cameron government argued, or whether it required parliamentary approval. Article 50 states that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements". As Professor Kenneth Armstrong (Professor of EU law at Cambridge University) points out this is a decision solely for domestic law: whether constitutional requirements have been met is a matter solely for the domestic law of member states. The UK's constitutional requirements for the valid invocation of Article 50 was the entire basis of this litigation, even though this was undertaken without explicit reference to that phrase as in Art 50(1) in the judgments. As will be seen below, it was held that the UK constitutional requirements were that an Act of Parliament need be passed in order to bestow the power on the Secretary of State to invoke Article 50, as the European Communities Act 1972 had displaced the Royal prerogative to take the UK outside of the EU treaties. The first of the parties to lodge a complaint in the proceedings against the government's intention to trigger Article 50 without a parliamentary vote was Deir Dos Santos, who launched his action four days after the referendum of 23 June. Miller's claim form was served on 29 July 2016. The law firm Mishcon de Reya announced that it had been retained by a group of clients to challenge the constitutionality of invoking Article 50 without Parliament debating it. In the proceedings, all parties accepted that withdrawal from the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
would have profound consequences in terms of changing domestic law in each of the jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. At the preliminary hearing on 19 July 2016, Sir
Brian Leveson Sir Brian Henry Leveson (; born 22 June 1949) is a retired English judge who served as the President of the Queen's Bench Division and Head of Criminal Justice. Leveson chaired the public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the ...
, President of the Queen's Bench Division, stated that the court gave leave to Dos Santos to stay his proceedings and join as an interested party in Miller's case, and others, such as a group of unnamed clients who were separately represented, would have the option to be interested parties in the claim or interveners. At the hearing, lawyers for the government confirmed that the government would not issue an Article 50 notification before the end of 2016. In the court proceedings, the government contended that it would be constitutionally impermissible for the court to make a declaration in terms that the government could not lawfully issue notification under Article 50 unless authorised by an Act of Parliament, and stated that the declaration now being opposed would trespass on proceedings in Parliament. Questions were also raised over the impartiality of
Lord Neuberger David Edmond Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury (; born 10 January 1948) is an English judge. He served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2017. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until the House of L ...
by Brexit MPs and ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'', as his wife had made a series of tweets criticising Brexit. These allegations were countered by his spokesman, who said that Neuberger's wife's personal views had no effect on Neuberger's ability to interpret the law.


Hearing

File:Official_portrait_of_Lord_Thomas_of_Cwmgiedd_crop_2,_2019.jpg, The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd
(Lord Chief Justice) File:Sir_Terence_Etherton.jpg, Sir Terence Etherton
(Master of the Rolls) File:Lord_Sales_2019.jpg, Sir Philip Sales
(Lord Justice of Appeal)
At the full hearing in October, before three judges sitting as a
divisional court A divisional court, in relation to the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, means a court sitting with at least two judges.Section 66, Senior Courts Act 1981. Matters heard by a divisional court include some criminal cases in the High Court ...
( the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls and Lord Justice Sales), it was argued for the lead claimant (Miller) that notification under Article 50 would commit the UK to the removal of rights existing under the European Communities Act 1972 and later ratification acts, and that it is not open to the government, without Parliament's approval, to use the
prerogative power The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in th ...
to take action affecting rights which Parliament had recognised in that way. An argument put for the " expat" Interveners at the hearing was that by the 1972 Act, Parliament had conferred a legislative competence on the EU institutions, and in that way had changed the constitutional settlement in the UK. Responding in the opening submissions for the government, the
Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
(
Jeremy Wright Sir Jeremy Paul Wright , MP (born 24 October 1972) is a British lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General for England and Wales from 2014 to 2018 and as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2018 to 2019. A ...
) outlined how the decision had been reached. In support of the contention that when passing the 2015 Act Parliament well knew of the Article 50 procedure for leaving the European Union if that was voted for in the referendum, he said that Parliament had previously dealt with it when the Lisbon Treaty was included in domestic law by the 2008 Act, and he took the court through the legislation dealing with the European Union and its predecessor, namely: *European Communities Act 1972 (before the
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) is an international agreement regulating treaties between states. Known as the "treaty on treaties", it establishes comprehensive rules, procedures, and guidelines for how treaties are define ...
came into force in 1980) *
European Assembly Elections Act 1978 The European Assembly Elections Act 1978 (c 10) also known as the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1978 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made provision for the holding of elections of representatives to the European ...
* European Communities (Greek Accession) Act 1979 *European Assembly Elections Act 1981 * European Communities (Spanish and Portuguese Accession) Act 1985 * European Communities (Amendment) Act 1986 *European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993 * European Union (Accessions) Act 1994 *European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 * European Union (Accessions) Act 2003 * European Union (Accessions) Act 2006 *
European Union (Amendment) Act 2008 The European Union (Amendment) Act 2008 (c. 7) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It gives effect in the law of the United Kingdom to the Lisbon Treaty, which was signed there by then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 14 December 2 ...
*Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 *
European Union Act 2011 The European Union Act 2011 (c. 12) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, requiring that a referendum be held on amendments of the Treaty on European Union or the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Introduced in th ...
* European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Act 2013 *
European Union Referendum Act 2015 The European Union Referendum Act 2015c. 36 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made legal provision for a consultative referendum to be held in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar, on whether it should remain a member sta ...
. In further submissions for the government, the lead claimant's primary argument was said by Treasury Counsel ( James Eadie) to be that it is not open to the executive to use the
prerogative power The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in th ...
in such a way as to affect or change current economic law, principally statute law; but the government contended that the leading case '' Attorney General v De Keyser's Royal Hotel'' meant that the question about the use of the royal prerogative depended on Parliament's legislative intention. The treaty ratification provisions of the
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (c. 25), or CRAG Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on UK constitutional law which affected the civil service and the ratification of treaties, and made other significant c ...
were in force from 11 November 2010, that is, after the
Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...
, including Article 50, was ratified for UK on 16 July 2008, and had come into force on 1 December 2009. While the Act describes "treaty" as an agreement between states, or between states and international organisations, which is binding under international law, including amendments to a treaty, and defines "ratification" as including acts (such as notification that domestic procedures have been completed) which establish as a matter of international law the United Kingdom's consent to be bound by the treaty, ratification of an amendment to a European Union treaty may involve compliance with the
European Union (Amendment) Act 2008 The European Union (Amendment) Act 2008 (c. 7) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It gives effect in the law of the United Kingdom to the Lisbon Treaty, which was signed there by then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 14 December 2 ...
, and there are further provisions under the European Union Act 2011. The Lord Chief Justice described the statutory procedure as "of critical importance". The hearing was concluded on 18 October, when the Lord Chief Justice said the judges would take time to consider the matter and give their judgments as quickly as possible. In the meantime, the applications of other parties challenging the government in legal proceedings in Northern Ireland's High Court were dismissed on 28 October, but the court was prepared to grant leave to appeal in respect of four out of the five issues.


Judgment

The court's unanimous judgment was delivered and published on 3 November. The decision was against the government's contention that the Crown's prerogative allowed giving Article 50 notice, and the court would later decide on the form of declaration it would make. The court described the passing of the European Communities Act 1972 as the major step of "switching on the direct effect of
EU law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its val ...
in the national legal systems", and reasoned that it is implausible that Parliament's intention was that the Crown should be able to switch it off unilaterally by exercise of its prerogative powers. The judgment stated that the question for the court's decision involved the constitutional law of the United Kingdom: it was whether the Crown's executive government is entitled to use the Crown's prerogative powers to give notice under Article 50 for the United Kingdom to cease to be a member of the European Union. The court held that the Government had no power to trigger notification under article 50 of the
Treaty on European Union The Treaty on European Union (2007) is one of the primary Treaties of the European Union, alongside the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TEU form the basis of EU law, by setting out general principles of the EU's ...
(TEU), because it would remove a series of rights created by Acts of Parliament. The principle of
parliamentary sovereignty Parliamentary sovereignty, also called parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy, is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. It holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over ...
required that only Parliament could take away those rights. This is expressed in the '' Case of Proclamations'' (1608), the
Bill of Rights 1688 The Bill of Rights 1689 is an Act of the Parliament of England, which sets out certain basic civil rights and clarifies who would be next to inherit the Crown, and is seen as a crucial landmark in English constitutional law. It received Roya ...
section 1, and continually confirmed since in cases including ''
Burmah Oil Co Ltd v Lord Advocate ''Burmah Oil Company Ltd v Lord Advocate'' 965AC 75, was a court case, raised in Scotland, and decided ultimately in the House of Lords. The case is an important decision in British constitutional law and had unusual legal repercussions at the ...
'', and ''
R (Jackson) v Attorney General ''R (Jackson) v Attorney General'' House of Lords case noted for containing obiter">Judicial functions of the House of Lords">House of Lords case noted for containing obiter comments by the Judiciary acting in their official capacity suggestin ...
''. The Crown may not alter the domestic law of the UK or modify rights conferred by Parliament. Three categories of rights were :(i) rights that could be replicated by British law (e.g. 28 days' paid holidays under the
Working Time Directive 2003 Working Time Directive''2003/88/ECis a European Union law Directive and a key part of European labour law. It gives EU workers the right to: *at least 28 days (four weeks) in paid holidays each year, *rest breaks of 20 minutes in a 6 hour peri ...
), :(ii) rights of British citizens in other EU member states (e.g. the right to work abroad, or set up a business, under
TFEU The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was previously known as the Treaty Establishi ...
articles 45 and 49) and :(iii) rights that could not be replicated in British law (e.g. the right to vote in the
EU Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
or petition the
EU Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
to enforce
competition law Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
or
environmental law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental Legal doctrine, legal principles, focu ...
standards in the UK). While the Secretary of State accepted that category (iii) rights would be nullified, the High Court also ruled that all rights in categories (i) and (ii) would also be jeopardised in their effectiveness. The case had come before the court as a "rolled up" hearing, so that both the application for permission to seek judicial review and the substantive merits of the claim were considered at the hearing. Formally, this meant that permission for full judicial review on the substantive merits was granted. The High Court order dated 7 November 2016 declared: "The Secretary of State does not have power under the Crown's prerogative to give notice pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union for the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union."


Press reaction

The High Court decision was met with mixed views in the daily press. ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' commented that the High Court ruling increased the prospect of an early general election, while the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' reported the case as a "blow" or a "setback" to the British government plans. The financial markets reacted by an increasing exchange rate for the
pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...
against the euro and the dollar, on speculation of a delayed or softer
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...
. Other news media attacked the presiding judges and questioned their impartiality, the ''Daily Mail'' calling them " enemies of the people", and on its website describing one judge as "an openly gay ex-Olympic fencer". ''The Guardian'' reported that MPs condemned newspaper attacks on the judges after their Brexit ruling. Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon condemned personal attacks from newspapers on the judges, describing them as "hysterical", and called on
Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...
Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped dow ...
to speak out and protect them. Former Attorney General
Dominic Grieve Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve (born 24 May 1956) is a British barrister and former politician who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2010 to 2014. He served as the Member of Parl ...
described the attacks as "entirely unjustified", and said that " ere seems to be a paranoid hysteria around that this is being done o reversethe referendum. But it's simply that there has to be a process followed if parliament is to give effect to and express the wish of the electorate." Brendan Cox, widower of
Jo Cox Helen Joanne Cox ( Leadbeater; 22 June 1974 – 16 June 2016) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from May 2015 until her murder in June 2016. She was a member of the Labour Party. Born in Ba ...
, also expressed concern. The
General Council of the Bar The General Council of the Bar, commonly known as the Bar Council, is the representative body for barristers in England and Wales. Established in 1894, the Bar Council is the 'approved regulator' of barristers, but discharges its regulatory functi ...
also called on Truss to condemn the attacks. The oath of office (prescribed by the
Constitutional Reform Act 2005 The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law L ...
) obliges a Lord Chancellor to respect the
rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannic ...
and defend the independence of the judiciary. On 5 November 2016, Truss issued a statement in which she said: "The independence of the judiciary is the foundation upon which our rule of law is built and our judiciary is rightly respected the world over for its independence and impartiality." Her statement was in turn criticised as belated and inadequate. The oath of office for judges obliges them to "well and truly serve" the Queen and "do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages" of the realm "without fear or favour, affection or ill will". The ''Telegraph'', in an editorial on 5 December 2016, expressed its regret that the High Court had heard the application at all, "instead of deciding that it was not the business of the judiciary to get involved in what is essentially a political matter" and its concern that "by upholding the lower court's ruling, the Supreme Court justices could find themselves dictating to Parliament – an inversion of the normal constitutional order, with potential consequences for the notion that Parliament is sovereign and thus supreme". ''The Guardian'' commented on 5 December 2016 that the unprecedented number of the panel of eleven justices who would be hearing the appeal and deciding the case was recognition of the constitutional significance and political sensitivity of the appeal.


Appeal to Supreme Court

The case, involving the government's appeal from the High Court of England and Wales and two references from Northern Ireland, was the first ever to be heard ''
en banc In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller p ...
'' by the full court (eleven
justices A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
, there being one vacancy). The
Court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...
scheduled the four days between 5 and 8 December 2016 for the hearing. Judgment was delivered on 24 January 2017. By a majority of the justices, the Supreme Court, with three dissenting, dismissed the government's appeal from the High Court, finding that an Act of Parliament was required to invoke Article 50.


In advance of appeal hearing

For the Scottish government, Scotland's First Minister,
Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...
, told the
Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...
to apply to join the case. Sturgeon maintained it "simply cannot be right" for EU rights to be "removed by the UK Government on the say-so of a Prime Minister without parliamentary debate, scrutiny or consent". She argued further that "legislation should be required at Westminster and the consent of the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...
should be sought before Article 50 is triggered". On 18 November the Supreme Court announced that the Attorney General for Northern Ireland had made a reference to the court regarding devolution issues relating to that jurisdiction and that the court had granted the applications of four interveners to take part in the appeal, namely: *The Lord Advocate (
James Wolffe Walter James Wolffe FSAScot FRIAS (born 20 December 1962) is a Scottish advocate who served as Lord Advocate from 2016 to 2021. He previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates from 2014 to 2016, and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Ad ...
), Scottish Government *The
Counsel General for Wales The Counsel General for Wales is the Welsh Government's Law Officer (akin to the role of Attorney general in other jurisdictions using the Common law), which means the government's chief legal adviser and representative in the courts. In add ...
( Mick Antoniw), Welsh Government *The "Expat Interveners" – George Birnie and others *The
Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is a trade union in the United Kingdom. The IWGB comprises eleven branches which organise workers within their chosen industry, run their own campaigns and have their own representative off ...
. The BBC reported that the Lord Advocate would be addressing the court on Scots law, and the Welsh Counsel General's submissions would be addressing the court on the rule of law and parliamentary sovereignty. Speaking on 9 November,
Lady Hale Brenda Marjorie Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, (born 31 January 1945) is a British judge who served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2017 until her retirement in 2020, and serves as a member of the House of Lords ...
, deputy president of the Supreme Court, stated that the issue in the case to be heard on appeal by the Court in December was whether giving Article 50 notification was within the Crown's prerogative powers for the conduct of foreign relations or whether the prerogative cannot be used in a way that undermines an act of the United Kingdom Parliament. In the appeal the government argued that, while Parliament's enactment of the European Communities Act 1972 was necessary to prevent the UK breaching the EEC treaties when they came into force on 1 January 1973, the 1972 act was a legal precondition neither for the signature nor for the ratification of the Treaty of Accession, nor for the treaty coming into force in respect of the UK. Intervening for the Scottish government, the Lord Advocate stated as background that the UK "acceded to the constitutional order of the Communities" when joining on 1 January 1973 and argued that " e purported giving of notification under Article 50 TEU by unilateral act of he British governmentwould be unlawful" because it would (''inter alia'') * be contrary to provisions of the Acts of Union of 1706 and 1708; and * circumvent the requirements of established constitutional convention. Before the hearing, the Supreme Court invited the public to view video footage of the entire proceedings, and provided on its website a page headed "Article 50 'Brexit' Appeal" with multiple links, giving a brief explanation of the issues to be considered and other information, and stating that in addition to live video feeds and 'on demand' catch-up video of each court session, transcripts would be available at the website on a half-daily basis (morning session by 4 pm, afternoon session around 7 pm). The government's written case, prepared in advance of the hearing of the appeal, and subscribed by the
Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...
and the
Advocate General for Scotland His Majesty's Advocate General for Scotland ( gd, Àrd-neach-tagraidh an Rìgh airson Alba) is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, whose duty it is to advise the Crown and His Majesty's Government on Scots law. The Office of the Advocate Genera ...
, included footnotes referring to legal comment, critical of the High Court's judgment, on pages of UK Constitutional Law Association and two other websites: *footnotes 7 p. 22 and 10, p. 24:
John Finnis John Mitchell Finnis, , (born 28 July 1940) is an Australian legal philosopher, jurist and scholar specializing in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. He is the Biolchini Family Professor of Law, emeritus, at Notre Dame Law School and a ...
, ''Terminating Treaty-based UK Rights'', 26 October 2016; and ''Terminating Treaty-based UK Rights: A Supplementary Note'', 2 November 2016. *footnote 11, p. 25: Adam Tomkins, ''Brexit, Democracy and the Rule of Law'', republished 6 November 2016 at
Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog () is an academic blog published in German and English, which focuses on the constitutional law of Germany and Europe in general. It was founded on 30 July 2009 by and is now published in cooperation with the Berlin Institute for ...
. *footnote 13, p. 26: M. Elliott and H. J. Hooper, ''Critical reflections on the High Court's judgment'', 7 November 2016. *footnote 14, p. 27: David Feldman, ''Brexit, the Royal Prerogative, and Parliamentary Sovereignty'', 8 November 2016. *footnote 21, p. 39: John Finnis, '' 'Intent of Parliament' unsoundly Constructed'', Judicial Power Project Blog, 4 November 2016. ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' commented that ministers had accused the judges of relegating the referendum vote to a footnote, and backing the claim that a vote from the House of Commons and House of Lords was now needed before UK and EU talks began. An opinion stated in a
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...
website article (3 December 2016) was that there was little expectation of the High Court's ruling being reversed by the Supreme Court. Another BBC webpage summed up the Scottish government's contention, against the British government's appeal, as arguing that the triggering of Article 50 will affect Scotland in a way that requires the involvement of the Scottish Parliament in the process.


Appeal and references heard together

The Supreme Court listed the appeal as ''R (on the application of Miller and Dos Santos) (Respondents) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Appellant)'' to be heard together with ''Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland – In the matter of an application by Agnew and others for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland)'' and ''Reference by the Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) – In the matter of an application by Raymond McCord for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland).'' The daily sessions of the hearing began on Monday 5 December. In the British government's appeal from the High Court, the British law officers and others, acting for the Secretary of State as the appellant, were instructed by the Government Legal Department; and the two respondents, Miller and Dos Santos, were represented by barristers and solicitors acting for them separately. Others listed as participating in the hearing were: *Attorney General for Northern Ireland *lawyers acting in ''NI Reference (Agnew and others)'' *lawyers acting in ''NI Reference (SoS Northern Ireland)'' instructed by Crown Solicitor's Office *lawyers acting in NI Reference (McCord) *1st interested party, Pigney and others *2nd Interested Party, AB and others *1st Intervener, Birnie and others *2nd Intervener, Lord Advocate instructed by Scottish Government Legal Directorate *3rd Intervener, Counsel General of Wales Instructed by Welsh Government Legal Services Department *4th Intervener, TWGB (written submissions only) *5th Intervener, Lawyers of Britain (written submissions only). The Court published a table setting out the time allotted for the hearing of the oral arguments of the parties' advocates in the four days, Monday 5 to Thursday 8 December: *First day, and morning of second day: for the Appellant (Attorney-General, Jeremy Wright; Treasury Counsel, James Eadie;
Advocate General for Scotland His Majesty's Advocate General for Scotland ( gd, Àrd-neach-tagraidh an Rìgh airson Alba) is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, whose duty it is to advise the Crown and His Majesty's Government on Scots law. The Office of the Advocate Genera ...
, Lord Keen of Elie), *Second day, afternoon: for the NI Attorney General (on reference from NI High Court), followed by for Respondent Miller. *Third day: for Respondent Miller (continued), followed by for Respondent Dos Santos, followed by for Applicants Agnew and McCord, followed by for the Scottish government. *Fourth day: for the Scottish government (continued), followed by for the Welsh government, followed by for Interested Parties Grahame Pigney and others, followed by for Interested Parties AB, KK, PR and children, followed by for George Birnie and others, followed by for the Appellant in reply.


The hearing

Before calling on the Attorney General to open the case for the government as Appellant, the Supreme Court President stated the justices were aware of the strong feelings associated with the many wider political questions surrounding the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union, but the appeal was concerned with the legal issues, and their duty was to consider those issues impartially and decide according to the law. He mentioned that all the parties involved in the proceedings had been asked whether they wished any of the justices to stand down, and each of them had stated that they had no objection to any of the eleven sitting on the appeal. At the start of the government's oral submissions, the Attorney-General said the claimants had brought High Court proceedings perfectly properly and it was now perfectly proper for the Supreme Court to decide the appeal. The Appellant's submissions, apart from devolution issues to be addressed later by the Advocate General for Scotland, were summed up on the morning of the second day in a series of points: *As Parliament knows today and knew in 1972, the Crown prerogative to make and unmake or withdraw from treaties exists as a key part of the British constitution. *Parliament has deliberately regulated some parts of those prerogative powers, expressly and in detail, but it has not touched the power to give Article 50 notice. *There is no basis for imposing a hidden legislative presumption on Parliament's intention: the rights in question in this case are created on the international plane, and then recognised by British law; EU rights on that plane are altered and removed through the Crown's prerogative powers, and that is a "significant step along the road to finding the intention in relation to withdrawal". *The courts should be wary of going over the line between interpretation of legislation and judicial legislation, in a way which would impose "a new control of a most serious kind in a highly controversial and, by Parliament, carefully considered area". *The 2015 Act and the referendum emphatically undermine a suggestion that giving Article 50 notice by use of the prerogative power could be other than consistent with the will of Parliament. Following on, the Advocate General for Scotland ended his oral submissions for the Appellant by saying that if an exercise of the royal prerogative to take the UK out of the EU were seen as an abuse of power after the 1972 Act, there could be no such abuse after the Referendum Act 2015 and the result of the referendum was known: "It is simply a question of whether it would be proper and appropriate for the executive to exercise the prerogative in particular circumstances, and the circumstances that we have to address are those which exist today in light of the 2015 Act, which is of considerable constitutional importance and the decision made in the referendum, knowing that if Parliament wanted to intervene and limit the exercise of that prerogative right, it is free to do so and has chosen to remain silent." For the Respondent Miller it was argued that the Court should not accept that the legal limits on ministers' powers are to be left to or influenced by political control, or parliamentary control, short of an act of Parliament. For the Respondent Dos Santos it was submitted that the legislature could easily have said what effect the 2015 referendum was if it wanted to tell us, but it has not told us, and the courts should not try and guess what the legislature intended, but instead leave it to the legislature to decide; and that, as there is no parliamentary authorisation for the loss of rights resulting from withdrawal from the EU, whether under the 2015 Act, or any other legislation which has been passed by Parliament, the government's appeal should be dismissed. The Welsh Government submitted that the British Government's proposed Article 50 notification would be an unlawful dispensation by the Crown of the provisions establishing the competence of the Welsh Assembly. In response to submissions of parties opposing the appeal and questions put by the Justices, it was said for the government that the question before the court was about "the present state of the division of responsibility between our pillars of state, legislative, executive, and indeed judicial, and that demands a current answer and not a historic one"; and that parliament's legislation was to implement British treaty obligations, not to control the government's exercise of the royal prerogative on the international plane. Closing the hearing, the Court President said that the appeal raised important constitutional issues, and the Justices would take time to give full consideration to the many arguments presented to them, orally and in writing, and they would do their best to resolve the case as quickly as possible.


Judgment

The Supreme Court held by eight judges to three that only Parliament could authorise a notification under TEU Article 50 to be given to the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
, upholding the decision of the High Court. However, all judges found unanimously that neither the
Sewel Convention A legislative consent motion (LCM, also known as a Sewel motion in Scotland) is a motion passed by either the Scottish Parliament, Senedd, or Northern Ireland Assembly, in which it consents that the Parliament of the United Kingdom may (or may ...
, nor the
Northern Ireland Act 1998 __NOTOC__ The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule. It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, established by ...
and the
Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...
, legally required the consent of the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...
, the
National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...
or the
Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = S ...
to trigger article 50. The majority judgment said the following.


Summary of judgements


Significance

After the government's appeal was dismissed, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU formally introduced in Parliament, on 26 January 2017, a bill that, on 16 March, was enacted without amendment as the
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 (c. 9) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to empower the Prime Minister to give to the Council of the European Union the formal notice – required by Article 50 of t ...
. The act's
long title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. The ...
is ''To Confer power on the Prime Minister to notify, under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union, the United Kingdom's intention to withdraw from the EU''. The act's two sections are to confer on the Prime Minister the power of giving the notice that the Treaty requires to be given when a member state decides to withdraw.


See also

* '' R (Wilson) v Prime Minister'' [2018
EWHC 3520 (Admin)
* United Kingdom constitutional law


Notes


References


External links


Supreme Court Judgment (2017) UKSC 5 (BAILII)Supreme Court Judgment (2017) UKSC 5 – Press SummaryR. (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union – High Court, the full judgment


* [https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/570778/Supreme_Court_Printed_Case_of_the_Secretary_of_State_for_Exiting_the_European_Union.PDF Supreme Court printed copy of the submission by the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union]
Supreme Court Written Case of Gina Miller

Supreme Court copy of the written submission of the Lord Advocate (''Her Majesty's Advocate'', for the Scottish Government, as ''the Scottish Ministers'')

''Miller'' Supreme Court Judgment: Expert Reactions (Judicial Power Project)
John Finnis John Mitchell Finnis, , (born 28 July 1940) is an Australian legal philosopher, jurist and scholar specializing in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. He is the Biolchini Family Professor of Law, emeritus, at Notre Dame Law School and a ...
and others
Parliament's role in ratifying treatiesMiller Case
*E McGaughey, 'Could Brexit be Void?' (2018
King's Law Journal
and o
SSRN
{{United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016, state=collapsed United Kingdom constitutional case law Consequences of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum Brexit 2016 in British law Royal prerogative January 2017 events in Europe European Union law January 2017 events in the United Kingdom