BRITONS have voted to leave the EU but is the public’s decision legally binding? And was is Article 50?
AFP GettyIs the EU referendum legally binding?
The EU referendum result is not legally binding so in theory Parliament could ignore the will of the people by deciding to stay in the EU.
This is because Parliament is sovereign and the EU vote was an “advisory referendum”, as opposed to a “binary” referendum which has a fixed outcome.
Therefore the EU referendum legislation does not force the Government to automatically take Britain out of the EU.
But the political reality is that Theresa May's Government has no choice but to follow through on the electorate’s wishes.
Politicians have repeatedly stressed that there was “no going back” if the British people voted to back Brexit in the referendum.
What is Article 50?
Britain has to tell the EU that it wants to go by invoking Article 50 of the EU rulebook for the first time in history.
Article 50, which is set out in the Lisbon Treaty, is the legal mechanism for the withdrawal of a member state from the EU.
The use of Article 50 will start the timer on a two-year process of exit talks over Britain’s political divorce from the 28-member bloc.
At the end of the two-year period, Britain will be expelled from the EU unless member states unanimously decide to extend the deadline.
The new Prime Minister Theresa May has said that she will trigger Article 50 before the end of March 2017.
But the process could be delayed if the Government is forced to get approval from Parliament in order to trigger Article 50.
Later this year the courts are due to decide whether the decision to use Article needs to be agreed by Parliament.
There are fears that Brexit could be delayed until after the German election in autumn 2017 or even postponed indefinitely.
When must Article 50 be used by?
There is no timescale for how soon after a referendum Article 50 must be invoked.
But the British Government is under pressure to start the process as soon as possible in order to put an end to the uncertainty that has engulfed Europe.
The European Council has said: “We now expect the United Kingdom Government to give effect to this decision of the British people as soon as possible, however painful that process may be.
“Any delay would unnecessarily prolong uncertainty.
“We have rules to deal with this in an orderly way. Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union sets out the procedure to be followed if a member state decides to leave.”
http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/683178/Brexit-is-EU-referendum-legally-binding-what-Article-50-legal-process-Britain-leave
