Hairdresser’s Lawsuit Seeks To Topple Brexit

The many lawsuits filed in the wake of the UK’s vote to leave the European Union – by a hairdresser, a finance entrepreneur, and many others who did not wish to be identified – have been combined in a single claim that is likely to end up before the UK Supreme Court this year. The suits ask that the Court find it illegal to invoke Article 50, which would trigger the two-year countdown to leave the EU, without first holding a vote in parliament. Some have said the lawsuit is futile, others have pointed out that it may pit the judiciary against the authority of the prime minister in a manner never before seen in Britain. “This will be one of the most important constitutional law cases ever decided,” Jeff King, professor at University College London, told Bloomberg. The Court’s ruling could lead to lengthy delays, the risk of jail for government ministers who choose to ignore the court’s orders, and possibly even force a parliamentary vote that could reject Brexit.