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Article 50: Can the UK revoke Brexit? Article 50: Can the UK revoke Brexit?
(2 days later)
The UK is due to leave the European Union (EU) on 12 April, unless an extension can be agreed. If EU leaders decide not to grant another Brexit delay, the UK is scheduled to leave on that date without a deal - unless it decides to revoke Article 50. Prime Minister Theresa May has been granted another Brexit delay by European Union (EU) leaders with a new deadline date of 31 October.
Article 50 is the part of the Lisbon Treaty which sets out what happens when a country decides that it wants to leave the EU. European Council President Donald Tusk said the UK should use the extra time to either pass the withdrawal agreement negotiated between the UK and the EU, rethink its strategy or "cancel Brexit altogether."
It was triggered by Theresa May on 29 March 2017, starting a two-year countdown to leaving. If the UK chose this last option, it would mean revoking something called Article 50.
A petition calling for it be revoked - effectively cancelling Brexit - was signed by more than five million people by 1 April when it was debated in Parliament. Article 50
This is the part of the Lisbon Treaty which sets out what happens when a country decides that it wants to leave the EU.
It was triggered by Theresa May on 29 March 2017, starting a two-year countdown to leaving - although this period has now been extended twice.
A petition calling for Article 50 to be revoked - effectively cancelling Brexit - has been signed by more than six million people. But Theresa May has said that it should not be revoked.
How could Article 50 be revoked?How could Article 50 be revoked?
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling last year confirmed that the UK could revoke Article 50 itself, without having to ask the other 27 EU countries for permission.The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling last year confirmed that the UK could revoke Article 50 itself, without having to ask the other 27 EU countries for permission.
It said that if it did, the UK could remain a member of the EU on the same terms including keeping its budget rebate. This could be done by writing a letter to the European Council, made up of EU heads of state.
The ECJ said the UK would then remain a member of the EU on the same terms - as it has now - including keeping its budget rebate.
But it did set some conditions.But it did set some conditions.
The ruling said revocation should be "unequivocal and unconditional", suggesting that the UK could not simply revoke Article 50 in order to buy more time and then resubmit it at a later date.The ruling said revocation should be "unequivocal and unconditional", suggesting that the UK could not simply revoke Article 50 in order to buy more time and then resubmit it at a later date.
Separate legal advice, from a top lawyer at the ECJ, said "appropriate legal instruments" could be used "if a Member State engaged in an abusive practice of using successive notifications and revocations in order to improve the terms of its withdrawal from the European Union". A senior lawyer at the ECJ said that "appropriate legal instruments" could be used if a member state tried to trigger and revoke Article 50 in order to secure a better withdrawal deal.
Who decides?Who decides?
Theresa May or Parliament?Theresa May or Parliament?
On this, the ECJ did not give a definitive answer. The court ruled that: "Revocation must be decided following a democratic process in accordance with national constitutional requirements." On this, the ECJ did not give a definitive answer.
The UK government can use the power known as the Royal Prerogative, which allows it to do certain things including deploying armed forces, granting honours and altering international treaties without consulting Parliament. The court ruled that: "Revocation must be decided following a democratic process in accordance with national constitutional requirements."
So it is possible in theory, but unlikely, that Mrs May would be able to revoke Article 50 without giving MPs the chance to vote on it. The UK government has a power known as the Royal Prerogative, which allows it to do certain things including deploying armed forces, granting honours and altering international treaties without consulting Parliament.
She has no plans to do so though, saying: "I do not believe that we should be revoking Article 50." So it is possible in theory that Mrs May would be able to revoke Article 50 without giving MPs the chance to vote on it.
There are also limits to the power of the Royal Prerogative, and those limits have been tested during the course of the Brexit process. But there are limits to that power, and those limits have been tested during the course of the Brexit process.
Their use to activate Article 50 was challenged by Gina Miller at the beginning of 2017. Their use to activate the two year Article 50 negotiating period was challenged by Gina Miller at the beginning of 2017.
The Supreme Court ruled in her case that the government could not trigger the EU exit process without bringing it before Parliament. The Supreme Court ruled in her case that the government could not trigger the EU exit process without bringing it before Parliament. That's why the final deal needed to be put to a "meaningful vote".
Because an act of Parliament had been required to trigger Article 50, the ECJ advocate general said: "It is logical, in my view, that the revocation of that notification also requires parliamentary approval." Because an act of Parliament was required to trigger Article 50, it has been suggested revoking it would also need parliamentary approval.
This does not mean it is a completely settled matter though. The UK was the first country to invoke Article 50 and it has never been revoked, so we would be in uncharted territory. "The balance of opinion is that the safest and most secure legal route is to enact a very short piece of legislation to authorise the prime minister to revoke," according to Kenneth Armstrong, professor of European law at the University of Cambridge.
As independent research group The UK in a Changing Europe points out: "Neither the advocate general nor the ECJ has the power to rule on the UK's constitutional arrangements." Although some lawyers believe a letter from the prime minister would do.
That's if Theresa May were to make the decision - but what if Parliament wanted to force her hand?
They could potentially do this by taking control of Parliamentary business, as happened last month enabling Labour MP Yvette Cooper to pass legislation compelling the Prime Minister to seek a Brexit extension.
In the same way, if there were a majority to do so, MPs might be able to instruct the Prime Minister to revoke Article 50.
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