Northern Ireland court rejects Brexit challenge

[October 28, 2016]  By Amanda Ferguson

BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's High Court on Friday ruled that the law of the province did not restrict the British prime minister's ability to trigger an exit from the European Union, and that the consent of the regional parliament was not required.

But it said that it would defer to English courts on the wider issue of whether Prime Minister Theresa May and her ministers have the authority to invoke Article 50 of the EU Lisbon Treaty, the mechanism by which a nation can leave the bloc, without the explicit backing of the British parliament.

The case is the first judgment in legal cases around Brexit that are being closely watched by politicians and markets, including a case in London on whether May has the power to trigger Article 50.

One of the plaintiffs, human rights activists Raymond McCord, said he would appeal against the ruling in the Supreme Court, Britain's highest judicial body.

Justice Paul Maguire said it was "not viable" that Northern Ireland, where 56 percent of voters backed remaining in the bloc, should overrule the 52 percent of the United Kingdom as a whole that voted in favor of leaving.

"The UK Parliament has retained to itself the ability to legislate for NI without the need to resort to any special procedure," he said.

He said there was nothing in Northern Ireland law that would prevent the prime minister using the "Royal Prerogative" to bypass parliament and trigger Article 50 directly. He said there was no need for Northern Ireland's regional parliament to pass a legislative consent motion before Article 50 is triggered.

Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May, leaves 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, in London, Britain October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

"Today is a setback but we will see the judges in London," McCord told journalists at the court. "I believe what we are doing is correct. Fifty-six percent of the people of this country (Northern Ireland) voted to remain."

A group of politicians and rights groups who took a parallel case that was merged with McCord's said they were "deeply disappointed" by the rejection of their case, but had not yet decided whether to appeal.

(Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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