This story gaining traction tonight, many European journalists tweeting the story.


Full Irish Times article in link below.
https://t.co/psDZO325Hw

Oh dear. Another road block for Tessie. That's one I didn't even see coming but I suppose it doesn't matter where the challenge to determine whether it's reversible starts. The claim could be lodged in any EU country.

Seems like a novel argument to say that Article 50 has already been triggered, and if it hasn't then the EU is in breach of their own laws. Obviously its just an excuse to get an ECJ ruling, but its an interesting way to go about it.

Below a tweet tonight from Ireland's national broadcaster's european correspondent Tony Connelly
British QC @JolyonMaugham expects to mount legal challenge in Irish courts in a bid to get #Article50 reversibility referred to the ECJ



This is certainly an interesting development late in the day.

Here's how RTE themselves are reporting the story :

https://www.rte.ie/news/2016/1209/83...-50-challenge/

An interesting legal twist to try and challenge A50's reversibility through the Irish High Court first and see if it can be referred on from there to the ECJ.

I've been bleating on about this for weeks. It was bound to happen. Even said it could come from outside UK. It was only a matter if it happened before article 50 triggered or afterwards. If ECJ deems that it can be untriggered (which I personally think it will) then it creates a different scenario after the deal is complete and comes back to UK for vote.

With more and more bumps on the road, I just cannot see Theresa May meeting her target of trigerring article 50.

I don't think the potential court case can have any effect on triggering Article 50 next March

the court case is about whether Britain could change it's mind during the process

that doesn't stop the process going ahead as planned

Well if it is deemed it can be untriggered then triggering it is suddenly not so fundamental.

You are back to the decision after the negotiation being three way.

- accept the Tory deal
- leave EU with no deal
- untrigger article 50

I'm sorry but can someone explain how or why the dublin supreme court is getting involved?

Its the Dublin High Court. And they're involved because a British lawyer has decided to take a case through the Irish courts about Article 50. Since the case involves EU law rather than the British constitutional issues that are being thrashed out in your courts, I presume the case could have been taken in any EU country, but he chose Ireland because we speak English.

Sort of.

Seems they are claiming that Mrs May may have triggered article 50 already by informing the European council we were leaving - hence justifying her exclusion from some of their later meetings.

Quite a lot of lawyers with time on their hands it seems!

And wallets to fill.

They have claimed no such thing at all.

There seems to be an unending queue of incredibly rich people who will spare no expense to block the democratic will of the British electorate.

They're trying to test the legality of the Article 50 process, not through British law, but through European law, so they're bringing a test case that could have been mounted in any EU state, but Ireland is being chosen as it's an English speaking country and has a very similar legal system to that in England and Wales.

Hardly. The case is crowdfunded as is the People's Challenge.

Are they? I don't think many will have given it a second thought.

Maybe more in Northern Ireland.

The same people in fact : Mr Maugham is also heavily involved in the High Court / Supreme Court challenge.

Yes they have if the article linked to in the OP is accurate.

Only read RTE which has more credibility in any event. If they indeed claim it has already been triggered then that's nonsense... but I don't think the IT reporting is correct.

It does sound like nonsense, but it would be hilarious if the ECJ ruled that they were right.

Completely agree. I don't think your average Scot, Welsh or English voter had Ireland (north or south) in their minds when entering the voting booth to cast their vote and quite frankly as an Irishman I fully get that.

Paragraph six of said article suggests exactly that!