Judges in Britain’s highest court delivered a bombshell judgment Tuesday, ruling unanimously that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to suspend Parliament for five weeks, at a critical period in the Brexit crisis, was illegal.
There were audible gasps as Supreme Court President Brenda Hale read out the judgment that Johnson’s move to “prorogue” or suspend parliament was “unlawful, void and of no effect.” As a result, Parliament, has not actually been suspended at all — and should return to sitting as soon as possible.
“The decision to advise her Majesty to prorogue parliament was unlawful, because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification,” she said.
“Parliament has not been prorogued.”
The ruling is a stunning defeat for Johnson, whose move to advise Queen Elizabeth earlier this month to suspend Parliament from Sept. 10 to Oct. 14 sparked immediate legal challenges. Tuesday's ruling has sparked renewed calls for him to resign.
While Johnson’s government insisted there was nothing unusual about the maneuver, critics said it was a blatant attempt by the Brexiteer leader to prevent Parliament from interfering with his plans to take Britain out of the European Union by an Oct. 31 deadline.
And now, the country’s top judges agree.
“This is a huge victory for the rule of law and for democracy,” said Joanna Cherry, a Scottish National Party lawmaker who led one of the groups bringing the cases under consideration.
She said Johnson, currently in the United States, should resign.
“The highest court in the United Kingdom has unanimously found that… his advice given to Her Majesty the Queen was unlawful, his position is untenable, and he should have the guts for once to do the decent thing and resign.”
Cover: A person dressed as a caricature of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a prison uniform stands outside the Supreme Court in London, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 after it made it's decision on the legality of Johnson's five-week suspension of Parliament. In a setback for Johnson, Britain's Supreme Court has ruled that the suspension of Parliament was illegal. The ruling Tuesday is a major blow to the prime minister who had suspended Parliament for five weeks, claiming it was a routine closure. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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