The highest court in the U.K. has determined that the government’s decision to suspend parliament for five weeks was unlawful.
Sterling jumped nearly 0.40% on the back of the decision to trade at $1.2478.
The President of the Supreme Court, Brenda Hale, said Tuesday the suspension of parliament was not a normal suspension and that it had taken place in exceptional circumstances. She said no justification for the government taking such extreme action – to suspend parliament for five weeks – had been put forward.
Hale said that the decision by Johnson’s government to advise the Queen to prorogue parliament (the monarch approves prorogation following advice from the prime minister) was unlawful “because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification,” Reuters reported.
Hale said the judges decision was unanimous.
The judges ruled that the suspension of parliament is void but that it was for parliament to decide what to do next. The court said Boris Johnson’s lawyer had told the court that the prime minister would comply with the judgment.
John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons (the lower house of parliament) welcomed the decision and said parliament must convene without delay, Reuters reported.
Protesters calling for parliament to be recalled shout outside the Supreme court in central London on September 24, 2019.
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The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said the decision showed that the prime minister had acted wrongly and that he had shown a “contempt for democracy and abuse of power.” He said Johnson should consider his position. He also called for parliament to be immediately recalled.
The Supreme Court’s 11 judges, or justices, were tasked with ruling on whether the government acted lawfully in suspending Parliament (a process known formally as “prorogation”) following a legal challenge brought by opposition lawmakers.
They said that the government’s aim was to frustrate parliamentary debate on Brexit, and to stop opposition to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans in the run-up to the departure date on October 31.
The government denied this, saying the shutdown was normal procedure and that it would allow it to return in October and introduce new plans for the parliamentary year ahead.
Pedestrians pass the Supreme Court in London, U.K., on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019.
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Prorogation usually marks the end of one parliamentary session before the start of the next, and although it’s normal for it to happen once a year, the timing of the prorogation this time is highly controversial.
Parliament was suspended from September 10 onward and was due to return on October 14. Brexit is due to take place on October 31 with the country bitterly divided over the departure and uncertain over what the future relationship with the EU will look like.
The shutdown started around seven weeks ahead of the Brexit deadline and the U.K. still does not have a deal with the EU that has been approved by the U.K. Parliament.
