The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that the UK could unilaterally rescind its Article 50 notice without the consent of the remaining 27 member states.

This means that the rest of the EU does not have to agree if the UK were to decide ‘no-Brexit’ before 29 March 2019.

The ECJ stated that the UK would be able to stay in the EU on the same terms it has now. The decision to stay must follow a democratic process in accordance with national constitutional requirements. As the Supreme Court previously ruled that a vote of Parliament was required to trigger Article 50, it is likely this would also apply to a decision to revoke Article 50. Politically that is unlikely to happen unless there had been a second referendum in favour of doing so. Therefore, the judgment is theoretical, but it has given hope to those arguing for another vote.

For further information please contact Janice Leggett in our Immigration Team.

This article is from the December 2018 issue of Employment Law Update, our monthly newsletter on employment legislation and regulation. To download the latest issue, please visit the newsletter section of our website. Law covered as at December 2018.

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