Brexit and the Benn Act: will the PM adhere to it?
Following Boris Johnson’s failed attempt to prorogue parliament in the last few weeks, Parliament passed the Benn Act. This ensures that, should Johnson fail to secure a Brexit deal by 19th October, he is obliged to send a letter to the EU to ask for an article 50 extension until the 31st January. Despite many attempts to reach a deal, many EU negotiators are doubting that Johnson will be able to negotiate a reasonable deal. This is largely down to the issue surrounding the Irish Backstop in the sense that Johnson is still arguing for a hard border, however EU negotiators still reject the customs border as impractical, temporary and not an operational solution. Because of this, worry is mounting from Remainers that Johnson will try to evade the Benn act, such as through an Order of Council.
Nonetheless, it appears that various senior UK Judges, such as Jolyon Maugham QC, have made clear that there will be serious legal repercussions should Johnson attempt to defy the will of parliament and the will of the court. This could be through an interdict, injunction, nobile officium (for Scottish judges), ordering Johnson to send the request for extension or by finding Johnson in contempt of court. Michael Barnier has already stated that he would grant an extension after considering that it is unlikely that an agreement will be made, especially after talks collapsed with the German Government.
More recently, there are higher hopes that a deal could be reached, as Johnson has begun to compromise with EU negotiators on the contentious issue of the Irish Backstop, whereby it now seems that there may be a ‘Northern Ireland-only backstop’. However, as Johnson is holding a rare House of Commons sitting on the 19th, if a deal has not been agreed, it seems that lawyers and judges will take steps to ensure the Benn act is upheld in order to avoid the UK leaving the EU on a no-deal basis.
