Legal tussle may delay Article 50 as planned by Theresa May

BREXIT: The withdrawal timetable proposed by the British Prime Minister, Theresa May from the European Union may suffer some hiccups due to a High Court challenge by some remain campaigners.

The remain campaigners stressed that the PM should not go on with any negotiation without backings from parliament. So far the group have raised £32,000 via crowd-funding.

Report has it that the PM is expected to trigger Article 50 early 2017 to kick-start the two years formal negotiations. From all indications, it appears the government does not want MPs and peers to vote on the decision, thus, fuelling rumour that it may use the Royal Prerogative, under which the British Monarch’s powers are applied by ministers the need for a parliament’s approval.

Sources reveals that about 480 of the 650 members of parliament are supporters of the Remain in the just concluded referendum, and a very robust Pro-EU lobby in the House of Lords. Nevertheless, most MPs are very careful not to alter the public’s decision, however, if given the opportunity, they may want negotiations to be deferred for the UK to have full access to the EU single market.

Some Grassroots campaigners such as Grahame and Rob Pigney, who live in France; Christopher Formaggia, who lives in Wales, Paul Cartwright, who is from Gibraltar; Tahmid Chowdhury, who lives in London and Fergal McFerran from Belfast who launched the “People’s Challenge” have demanded that the privileges they enjoy as British nationals inside the EU cannot be taken away except the Acts of Parliament which gives effect to EU legislations are revoked.

According to John Halford, a partner at law firm  Bindmans  representing the group, stated that: “The support the public have shown so far for this case is heartening. It demonstrates that people feel profoundly troubled by the prospect of having rights they have had for four decades stripped away in the democratic vacuum that will be created if the Prime Minister is allowed to use the Royal Prerogative to invoke Article 50. The People's Challenge group's stand against that happening is courageous and a critical means to ensure ordinary British citizens’ voices are heard and given real weight by the courts on this issue.”

Several separate challenges the Government over Article 50 are being planned and they are likely to be heard together in mid-October.

There are also some kind of political pressure on Ms May to delay the start of Brexit talks. Some politicians, including the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, have reasoned that it would be better to wait until after elections in France next spring and Germany next autumn so the Prime Minister knows with whom she will be negotiating. Nonetheless the European Commission and other EU leaders are pressing the UK to open formal talks as soon as possible.

The EU’s approach to Brexit will be discussed by Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor; Francois Hollande, the French President and Matteo Renzi, Italy’s Prime Minister, at a summit near Naples on Monday. The 27 EU leaders, meeting without the UK, will debate the issue in Bratislava next month.