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LONDON. — The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom yesterday ruled that the government shut down Parliament illegally, just weeks away from the final Brexit deadline.
But what does this all mean? And why is this so significant?
This is about the impending Brexit deadline on 31 October.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed the UK will leave the EU on that day — even if there is no deal with the EU about how it will work.
But many lawmakers think a no-deal Brexit must be stopped at all costs. So on 28 August, when Mr Johnson announced Parliament would be suspended until mid-October, a huge row erupted.
Mr Johnson said he was following normal procedure for a new leader. Rivals claimed he was trying to stop Parliament from opposing him.
The Supreme Court has decided he acted illegally — a ruling that challenges Britain’s unwritten constitution and the entire balance of power.
The judges did not simply rule against the prime minister: this was the worst possible outcome for him.
He is already facing calls from political opponents to resign.
The court unanimously declared “the prime minister’s advice to Her Majesty was unlawful, void and of no effect” when he asked the Queen to suspend Parliament.
The decision “had the effect of frustrating or preventing” Parliament from carrying out its functions, it said.
The court decided that the suspension of Parliament essentially never happened at all.
The UK’s Supreme Court is just 10 years old, and the courts have, historically, not intervened in politics to this extent.
The Supreme Court made it clear that it was not ruling on Brexit — but simply deciding if the prime minister could lawfully “prorogue” Parliament — a fancy word for suspending it.
It’s not an unusual move: new prime ministers usually do that to end one session of Parliament and start another, with a new legislative programme. In recent decades, it’s usually lasted a week. Mr Johnson consistently said that was all he was doing.
But he said the UK would leave the EU on 31 October no matter what — even if the controversial deal with the EU had not been agreed. That is hugely controversial, with members of Parliament (MPs) both in and out of his party worried that it would cause economic chaos.
What happens next?
Because the suspension was ruled unlawful, parliament is technically still in session, as if the whole thing never happened.
Boris Johnson, meanwhile, said that his government would respect the court’s decision — even though he strongly disagreed with it.
The court said it was up to the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, and his counterpart in the House of Lords to decide what happened next, and they decided that both houses would reconvene today (Wednesday).
And when it comes to Brexit, there is a time limit.
Johnson still maintains that he will take the UK out of the EU on October 31 — despite the fact that in the small amount of time they were in session, Parliament passed a law requiring him to ask for yet another extension.
He said that task was “not made much easier by this kind of stuff in Parliament or in the courts”.
That disagreement could lead to another political crisis, or another election. Or the EU might not agree to an extension even if asked.
And now, more than three years after the Brexit vote, there are just 37 days left to sort it all out. — BBC.
Online Reporter