Mixed messages in bottles: the European Union, devolution, and the future of the constitution

Murkens, Jo Eric Khushal ORCID: 0000-0001-8897-8860 (2017) Mixed messages in bottles: the European Union, devolution, and the future of the constitution. Modern Law Review, 80 (4). pp. 685-696. ISSN 0026-7961

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Abstract

An unprecedented eleven-member UK Supreme Court decided R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on 24 January 2017. The Government’s argument, that it could start the process of withdrawing from the EU using a prerogative power instead of an Act of Parliament, was comprehensively defeated by an 8:3 majority. However, the Government also secured a unanimous verdict that it did not need the consent from the devolved legislatures in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland before invoking Article 50 of the TEU. I explore the judicial argumentation in light of Philip Bobbitt’s six modalities of constitutional argument, five of which feature, and one of which ought to have featured, in this seminal case.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.modernlawreview.co.uk/
Additional Information:	© 2017 The Author. The Modern Law Review © 2017 The Modern Law Review Limited
Divisions:	Law School
Subjects:	J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) K Law > K Law (General)
Date Deposited:	17 Aug 2017 09:53
Last Modified:	27 Oct 2025 06:12
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/83785

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