Following our recent post and the UK Government's application, the Supreme Court has refused permission to appeal the Scottish Court of Session's referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the technical ground that the referral does not constitute a final judgment which could be appealed.
The ECJ's preliminary ruling on whether an Article 50 notice can be unilaterally revoked and if so, on what conditions and with what effect, will therefore proceed.
The referral is expected to be heard by the ECJ on 27 November. Once the preliminary ruling has been given, the matter will return to the Court of Session for it to give judgment, taking into account not only the ruling but also any relevant facts and rules of domestic law. Given the on-going battle among MPs over the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement which is likely to come to a head in the next few weeks, the timing of the delivery of the ECJ's preliminary ruling and its impact will be fascinating.
