British court brings Brexit to a screeching halt

Britain’s High Court brought government plans for leaving the European Union to a screeching halt Thursday, ruling that the prime minister can’t trigger the U.K.’s exit from the 28-nation bloc without a vote in Parliament.

The case is considered the most important constitutional matter in a generation. The Conservative government said it would go to the country’s Supreme Court to challenge the ruling, which, if upheld, could prevent it from starting exit talks with the EU by March 31 as planned.

The British pound, which has lost about a fifth of its value since the June 23 vote to leave the EU, shot back up after Thursday’s verdict, rising more than 1 percent to $1.2493 before falling back slightly.

Britons voted by a margin of 52 to 48 percent to exit the EU, a process known as “Brexit.” Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will invoke Article 50 of the EU treaty, which launches two years of exit negotiations, by the end of March.

Several claimants, including a hairdresser and a financial entrepreneur, challenged May’s right to trigger Brexit, in a case with major constitutional implications that hinges on the balance of power between Parliament and the government.

May wants to use royal prerogative, historic powers officially held by the monarch, to trigger Article 50. The powers, which have in reality passed onto politicians, enable decisions about issues including international treaties to be made without a vote of Parliament.

The claimants argued that leaving the EU will remove legal rights held by British citizens — including free movement and job opportunities within the EU — and that can’t be done without Parliament’s approval.

Three senior judges agreed, ruling that “the government does not have the power under the Crown’s prerogative to give notice pursuant to Article 50 for the U.K. to withdraw from the European Union.”

The judges backed the claimants’ argument that “the Crown could not change domestic law and nullify rights under the law unless Parliament had conferred upon the Crown authority to do so.”

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