Article 50

Revoking Brexit: Can Member States Rescind Their Declaration of Withdrawal from the European Union?

Jens Dammann, William Stamps Farish Professor in Law, the University of Texas School of Law.* Note: This full-length Article appears in Volume 23, Issue 2 of the Columbia Journal of European Law, available soon in print and online via HeinOnline, LexisNexis, and Westlaw. Introduction On June 23, 2016 U.K. voters did the unthinkable and voted, by a narrow margin, for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.[1] Such a move is entirely legal. The Treaty on European Union explicitly gives Member States the right to withdraw from the European Union.[2] Nonetheless, the outcome was unexpected.[3] Most pundits had predicted a victory for […]

The Brexit Legal Challenge- A Summary

Haozhou (Nick) Qiu, J.D. Candidate 2018, Columbia Law School Introduction December 8, 2016 marked the final day of the UK Supreme Court’s hearing on Brexit and Article 50.  Presided over by an unprecedented 11 judges, the case concerned the appeal by the UK government against the November High Court ruling on the matter. The prior judgment stated that notification of an intention to leave the EU under Article 50 cannot be given based on royal prerogative alone; instead, formal legislation by Parliament is required. The Supreme Court hearing lasted four days and the court is expected to deliver its opinion […]

The U.K. Votes Out: What Happens Next

Colleen Baehrend, J.D. Candidate, Columbia Law School 2017   The process of unravelling the partnership between the one of the largest economies in the world and the most prominent trade bloc comes down to only 261 words: the text of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. With such brief guidelines and no precedent to work with, how exactly the divorce between the U.K. and EU will proceed is shrouded in uncertainty. Starting at the source, Article 50(1) gives Member States the right to withdraw from the EU “in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.” Thus, Article 50 must be invoked […]