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''R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union'' is a
United Kingdom constitutional law The United Kingdom constitutional law concerns the governance of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. With the oldest continuous political system on Earth, the British constitution is not contained in a single code but princ ...
case decided by the
United Kingdom Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...
on 24 January 2017, which ruled that the
British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
(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 less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...
as prescribed by
Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) provides for the possibility of an EU member state leaving the European Union "in accordance with its own constitutional requirements". Currently, the United Kingdom is the only state to hav ...
without an Act of Parliament giving the government
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
'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 th ...
for first reading in the House of Commons on 26 January 2017. The case is informally referred to as "the ''Miller'' case" or (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 (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
led by the
Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, 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 (law), privilege, and immunity recognised in common law (and sometimes in Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy) as belonging to the monarch, so ...
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 In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. 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 (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish 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 a ...
for the
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
and Welsh governments (respectively as ''the Scottish'' and ''Welsh Ministers''), and applicants for judicial review in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
also had their three separate applications considered together with this case, all of whom argued that the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
, 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, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...
and the
Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
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 Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) provides for the possibility of an EU member state leaving the European Union "in accordance with its own constitutional requirements". Currently, the United Kingdom is the only state to hav ...
(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 David Philip Pannick, Baron Pannick, (born 7 March 1956) is a British barrister and a crossbencher in the House of Lords and Blackstone Chambers. He practises primarily in public law and human rights and has argued high profile cases before the ...
, a columnist for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 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 Gina Nadira Miller (' Singh; born 19 April 1965) is a Guyanese people, Guyanese-British people, British business owner and activist who initiated the 2016 ''R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union'' court case against the ...
and other claimants had sought permission to bring an action in the High Court for
judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...
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 ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...
and
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
Treaties), without a vote or deliberative debate in Parliament. David Davis, the
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union or, informally, Brexit Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the business of the Department for Exiting the European Union, as well ...
, 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 The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
) 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 Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
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 an English retired senior judge who is the current Investigatory Powers Commissioner, having previously served as the President of the Queen's Bench Division and Head of Criminal Justice. Lev ...
,
President of the Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...
, 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 Lord ...
by Brexit MPs and ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', 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_3,_2019.jpg, The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd
(Lord Chief Justice) File:Official portrait of Lord Etherton crop 2.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 ( 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 recognised 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 An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...
" 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 (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
(
Jeremy Wright Sir Jeremy Paul Wright (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 memb ...
) 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 that regulates treaties among sovereign states. Known as the "treaty on treaties", the VCLT establishes comprehensive, operational guidelines, rules, and proced ...
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 The European Union (Accessions) Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which ratified and legislated for the accession of the Austria, Finland and Sweden to the European Union. The act also mentions Norway who did not ratify ...
*European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 *
European Union (Accessions) Act 2003 The European Union (Accessions) Act 2003 (c 35) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which ratified and legislated for the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Sl ...
*
European Union (Accessions) Act 2006 The European Union (Accessions) Act 2006 (c 2) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which ratified and legislated for the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union. It received ...
*
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 a referendum be held on amendments of the Treaty on European Union or the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Introduced in the Ho ...
*
European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Act 2013 The European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Act 2013 (c. 5) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom introduced to the House of Commons by William Hague. The Act made provisions consequential on the Treaty concerning the Acc ...
*
European Union Referendum Act 2015 The European Union Referendum Act 2015 (c. 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 membe ...
. In further submissions for the government, the lead claimant's primary argument was said by
Treasury Counsel A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state ...
( 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 recognised 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 cha ...
were in force from 11 November 2010, that is, after the
Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two Treaty, treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all Member stat ...
, 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 An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own leg ...
, 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 Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...
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 the 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 forms 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 al ...
required that only Parliament could take away those rights. This is expressed in the ''
Case of Proclamations The ''Case of Proclamations'' King James I (1603–1625) which defined some limitations on the royal prerogative at that time. Principally, it established that the monarch could make laws only through Parliament. The judgment began to set out t ...
'' (1608), the
Bill of Rights 1688 The Bill of Rights 1689 (sometimes known as the Bill of Rights 1688) is an act of the Parliament of England that set out certain basic civil rights and changed the succession to the English Crown. It remains a crucial statute in English con ...
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 th ...
'', and '' R (Jackson) v Attorney General''. 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), :(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 Establish ...
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 two 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 a ...
or petition the
EU Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of members of the Commission ( directorial system, informally known as "commissioners") corresponding t ...
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 ...
or
environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...
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 British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' 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 also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' 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 (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...
against the euro and the dollar, on speculation of a delayed or softer
Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
. Other news media attacked the presiding judges and questioned their impartiality, the ''Daily Mail'' calling them "
enemies of the people The terms enemy of the people and enemy of the nation are designations for the political opponents and the social-class opponents of the power group within a larger social unit, who, thus identified, can be subjected to political repression. ...
", 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 Richard Burgon (born 19 September 1980) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds East since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, Burgon served as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chance ...
condemned personal attacks from newspapers on the judges, describing them as "hysterical", and called on
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth da ...
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 (née 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 ...
, 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 delegates 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 ...
) obliges a Lord Chancellor to respect the
rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...
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'' (; alternatively ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank''; ) session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges. For courts like the United States Courts of Appeal ...
'' by the full court (eleven
justices ''Justice'' (abbreviation: ame ''J.'' and other variations) is an honorific style and title traditionally used to describe a jurist who is currently serving or has served on a supreme court or some equal position. In some countries, a justice ma ...
, there being one vacancy). The
Court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...
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 who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...
, told the
Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish 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 ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
should be sought before Article 50 is triggered". On 18 November the Supreme Court announced that the
Attorney General for Northern Ireland The Attorney General for Northern Ireland is the chief legal adviser to the Northern Ireland Executive for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Attorney General for Northern Irel ...
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), 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 a ...
(
Mick Antoniw Mick Antoniw (; born 1 September 1954) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician, who was Counsel General for Wales from 2021 to 2024, having previously served in the position from 2016 to 2017. He previously served as Minister for the C ...
), 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 is composed of eleven branches which organise workers within their chosen industry, run their own campaigns and have their own representat ...
. 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, 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 the chief legal adviser to the sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales as well as the highest ranking amongst the law officers of the Crown. The attorney gener ...
and the
Advocate General for Scotland His Majesty's Advocate General for Scotland is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, whose duty it is to advise the The Crown, Crown and His Majesty's Government on Scots law. The Office of the Advocate General for Scotland is a Departments o ...
, 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 and jurist specializing in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. He is an original interpreter of Aristotle and Aquinas, and counts Germain Grisez as a major inf ...
, ''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 Adam Tomkins (born 28 June 1969) is a British academic and politician who is the John Millar Professor of Public Law at the University of Glasgow School of Law. A member of the Scottish Conservatives, he was a Member of the Scottish Parliamen ...
, ''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 British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' 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 broad ...
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 is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, whose duty it is to advise the The Crown, Crown and His Majesty's Government on Scots law. The Office of the Advocate General for Scotland is a Departments o ...
,
Lord Keen of Elie Richard Sanderson Keen, Baron Keen of Elie (born 29 March 1954) is a British lawyer and Conservative Party politician. He was Advocate General for Scotland from May 2015 until his resignation on 16 September 2020. Early life Keen was educate ...
), *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 primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
, 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 ma ...
, nor the
Northern Ireland Act 1998 __NOTOC__ The Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47) 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, establi ...
and the
Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
, legally required the consent of the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
, 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, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...
or the
Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
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 th ...
. 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 The United Kingdom constitutional law concerns the governance of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. With the oldest continuous political system on Earth, the British constitution is not contained in a single code but princ ...


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 and jurist specializing in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. He is an original interpreter of Aristotle and Aquinas, and counts Germain Grisez as a major inf ...
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
Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...
Consequences of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...
Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...
Royal prerogative January 2017 in Europe
Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...
January 2017 in the United Kingdom