How can the “conscious uncoupling” of the EU & UK legal systems be achieved, ask Charles Brasted & Andrew Eaton
- Brexit poses fundamental questions for the UK’s unwritten constitution & legislative framework.
Constitutional law has so far been central to the public debate on the implications of the EU referendum result.
One constitutional issue that has received much attention is the, now infamous, Art 50 debate. Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which is the legal mechanism for a member state to leave the EU, provides that it is for the UK to “decide” to leave the EU “in accordance with its own constitutional requirements” and to notify the European Council of its decision. Early rumours that the prime minister might trigger it accidentally or that the EU might force the UK to give notice immediately have been dispelled. The question remains: what are those constitutional requirements and who is entitled to make the decision?
The government has maintained that it is entitled to trigger Art 50 without prior approval by Parliament (see, for example,
