Clifford Chance

Brexit: the constitutional endgame and the need to act now

14 September 2016

Service of notice under article 50 of the Treaty on European Union will fire the starting gun on the formal process leading to the UK’s departure from the EU. The High Court will decide in October the much-debated question of whether the Government can choose on its own to give notice under article 50 or whether it needs legislative approval first. But the legal complexities are not confined to this initial stage. The end of the lengthy withdrawal process will also bring with it considerable uncertainties, as well as practical complications. These issues in the endgame influence, perhaps even dictate, what the UK needs to be doing now to prepare the UK for life outside the EU. The sooner legislation is brought forward to lay the groundwork for withdrawal and to remove the uncertainties, the easier it will be.

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