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07 November 2016 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7722 / Categories: Opinion , Brexit , EU
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Art 50: the verdict

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Michael Zander QC predicts the government is likely to lose the appeal to the Supreme Court

Asked by NLJ for an immediate assessment of last week’s Brexit decision I wrote: “The Divisional Court’s unanimous decision is very clear and very strong. It completely rejects the arguments advanced by the Attorney General for the government. Triggering Art 50 to start withdrawal from the EU requires parliamentary approval not in the form of a vote but in the form of a statute. It would be extremely surprising if the Supreme Court reversed the decision. The government’s Brexit plans have suffered a major reverse.”

The decision provoked disturbingly offensive front-page newspaper headlines of a kind rarely seen in this country, adorned by large accusing pictures of the three judges: “The judges versus the people” (The Telegraph), “Enemies of the people” (The Daily Mail), “Three judges yesterday blocked Brexit. Now your country really does need you” (Daily Express) and the like. The Lord Chancellor, Liz Truss, with statutory responsibility to uphold the rule of law, has rightly been

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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