EU Court of Justice’s advocate general says ‘Britain can still cancel Brexit by revoking Article 50 without consent of other EU states’- Final ruling expected in coming weeks
4733 Mins Read
Britain can still cancel Brexit by revoking Article 50 without the consent of other EU member states, the European Court of Justice’s advocate general has said.
A non-binding opinion has been issued by one of the European Court of Justice Advocate-Generals, that finds the UK has the right to withdraw the Article 50 notification on Brexit from the EU unilaterally. The European Commission and Council argue that this would require a unanimous agreement of the Council as well. The opinion of Spanish Advocate-General (AG) Campos Sánchez-Bordona will be taken under advisement by the full panel of ECJ judges when they issue their final ruling – due in the next few weeks.
EU lawyers had argued that the UK needed a vote of other member states if it wanted to back out, while the British government had said the Court should not rule on the question because it was hypothetical.
According to the opinion, “… possibility [to revoke the activation of article 50] continues to exist until such time as the withdrawal agreement is formally concluded.”
The 11 Advocates-General assist the Court. They are responsible for presenting, with complete impartiality and independence, an ‘opinion’ in the cases assigned to them. The opinion of the AG assigned to the case states that Article 50 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, that corresponds to triggering the withdrawal of any EU member state from the bloc, is an expression of the principle of respect for the national identities of the member states, in allowing them to withdraw if they consider that that national identity is incompatible with membership of the EU.
Politics Insider reports “On Tuesday, the European Court of Justice’s Advocate General Campos Sanchez-Bordona proposed that the ECJ should declare that Article 50 – the legal mechanism which kickstarted Brexit – allows the “unilateral revocation” of a member state’s intention to withdraw from the EU.”
The court case was referred to the ECJ by Edinburgh’s Court of Session in September after a legal case was brought by a group of anti-Brexit Scottish politicians.
The report adds that though the advocate general’s opinion is not a final legal ruling, it is very unusual for the full court to overturn its recommendation. A final ruling by a panel of judges is due in the next few weeks.
Though some say the opinion is non-binding, the ECJ usually follows the AG’s opinions in final rulings, meaning the opinion could soon prove to be a game changer.
The case on which the opinion was issued, was brought before the ECJ by Scottish politicians opposed to Brexit in hope that they could pave the way for a potential second referendum if the court ruling was in their favour.
