26 January 2017
Client Alert | EU | UK | Brexit
On 24 January 2017 the UK's Supreme Court confirmed that the UK Government needed to obtain the approval of Parliament before triggering Article 50. Accordingly, the Government today introduced to the House of Commons the draft legislation required to give the Prime Minister the requisite power. The bill is to be known as the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill.
The Bill is very short, having only two clauses:
1. Power to notify withdraw from the EU
(1) The Prime Minister may notify, under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union, the United Kingdom's intention to withdraw from the EU.
(2) This section has effect despite any provision made by or under the European Communities Act 1972 or any other enactment.
2. Short title
This Act may be cited as the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017.
The Government has indicated that it intends to ask Parliament to expedite the parliamentary progress of the Bill. They consider the fast-tracking to be necessary because the judgment of 24 January in the Miller Case required the Government to complete an additional (and unexpected) step before the formal process of leaving the European Union can commence. Completing this step through the normal Bill timetable would cause considerable delay to commencing the formal exit process making it impossible to do so before the end of March 2017, which would generate further uncertainty as to the timetable for the UK's exit from the EU. Accordingly, MPs will be asked to approve a programme motion allowing just five days for all the Commons debates on the Bill.
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