Scotland’s appeal court on Wednesday declared British Prime
Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament “unlawful”,
in a case brought by lawmakers and set to be appealed by the
government.
The decision overturns a previous Scottish ruling which had
paved the way for Johnson to prorogue parliament on Tuesday until
October 14 — just a few weeks before Britain is due to leave the
European Union.
However, the government immediately said it would appeal the
decision to the supreme court in London.
A lawyer involved in bringing the case in Scotland suggested it
may be heard as soon as next Tuesday.
Judges in the Inner House, the supreme civil court in Scotland,
ruled that Johnson’s advice to the queen to prorogue parliament
“was unlawful because it had the purpose of stymying parliament”,
according to a summary.
The case had been brought by 78 British lawmakers, who accuse
Johnson of trying to silence critics of his plan to leave the EU
next month without a deal with Brussels.
A government spokesman: “We are disappointed by today’s
decision, and will appeal to the UK Supreme Court.
“The UK government needs to bring forward a strong domestic
legislative agenda. Proroguing parliament is the legal and
necessary way of delivering this.”
It noted that a separate case brought at the high court in
London last week against prorogation had failed.
A lawyer involved in the Scottish case against the government,
Jolyon Maugham, tweeted that it would be considered in Britain’s
Supreme Court starting on Tuesday.
The court could not be reached for immediate comment.
Suspending parliament to start a new legislative session is
normally a routine event that takes place most years.
But Johnson’s decision is controversial because it would leave
parliament without a voice for five weeks in the run-up to Brexit,
with the divorce terms still in doubt
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