AS expected, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) yesterday backed its Advocate General in the case of the Scottish Six politicians against the UK Government and ruled that Britain can unilaterally stop the Article 50 process.
The Scottish Six plus English lawyer Jolyon Maugham QC have thus won a momentous legal battle against both the Tory Government in Westminster and the European Union itself, the European Commission having objected strongly to their case.
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The definitive ruling which cannot be appealed was overshadowed by the extraordinary events of yesterday in Westminster, but the fact that the UK can stop Brexit on its own and without penalty or loss of current membership status is very significant should the Commons eventually defeat Theresa May’s deal or the issue going to a People’s Vote.
The case was brought by the SNP’s Joanna Cherry QC MP and Alyn Smith MEP, plus Labour’s David Martin and Catherine Stihler and Green MSPs Andy Wightman and Ross Greer.
Joanna Cherry QC MP said: “I’m delighted that we now know definitively that there is an option to stay in the EU.
“The UK Government has ignored Scotland’s vote to Remain and all compromises suggested by the Scottish Government.
“They also fought us every inch of the way in this case, so it’s a particularly sweet irony that Scottish parliamentarians and the Scottish courts have provided this lifeline to the UK Parliament at this moment of crisis.”
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SNP MP and National columnist Alyn Smith, described the ruling as a “dynamite,” adding: “Bringing the case was a risk but it has worked better than we could have hoped for.
“Our case has confirmed, once and for all and from the highest court in the business, that the UK can indeed change its mind on Brexit and revoke Article 50, unilaterally.
“The timing is sublime. As colleagues in the House of Commons consider Mrs May’s disastrous deal we now have a roadmap out of this Brexit shambles.
“A bright light has switched on above an ‘EXIT’ sign.”
Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell said: “We now know, thanks to the efforts of Scotland’s parliamentarians, that remaining in the EU is still on the table.”
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