Senior Judge rules prorogation – suspension – of Parliament to be unlawful thus null and of no effect
Integral Studies, 15/16 September 2019
Analysis for www.iniref.org
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The prorogation, suspension of the elected parliament instigated by prime minister Johnson and his government was unlawful. It has been judged in a high UK court to be "null and of no effect". Parliament MUST THEREFORE be recalled immediately. The courts must enforce this if necessary by direct legal action against the responsible persons in or associated with government.
The Court of Session is a court of the United Kingdom and is the highest civil court based in Scotland. This court has seen and explained that the Johnson government asked the monarch to suspend parliament for their own political reasons, mainly to prevent the House of Commons from further intervening in the EU/UK "brexit" affair.
Although Johnson et al acted against parliament for political reasons the use of prorogation was not a political matter but a matter of state constitution.
Courts of appropriate status, based in a political unit and state, are empowered to act for the whole state. In recent times we have seen cases in the USA in which a court in a constituent state has forbidden or constrained an act of the central government and the president of the USA. Surely the judgement of the scottish UK court (Scotland still being fully a part of the UK) must have or should be made to have the effect of a court order or injunction which compels the UK government to reverse its decision to prorogue. We are in a phase of political and constitutional crisis and near emergency. The scrutiny and guidance of the House of Commons is vitally needed in the run-down period fixed by Article 50 TEU for 31.10.2019 and for at least months thereafter.
The prorogation has been referred to the UK's supreme court, a process which could take weeks or months. This should not prevent the immediate reversal of Johnson's prorogation and the recall of Parliament.
A lower court reportedly declared the government's action to be legal because in whole or in part it was a matter of politics in which the courts are supposed not to intervene. We have explained above that for the law courts the prorogation is NOT a matter of politics but is a matter central to our constitution and therefore a legal matter.
The Court of Session President wrote:
"[60] The court should for these reasons allow the reclaiming motion and grant a declarator that the advice to prorogue Parliament on a day between 9 and 12 September until 14 October, and hence any prorogation which followed thereon, is unlawful and thus null and of no effect."
Parliament MUST be recalled immediately. The courts must enforce this if necessary by direct legal action against the responsible persons in or associated with government.
reference
COURT OF SESSION
[2019] CSIH 49
P680/19
See also:
HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE, QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
DIVISIONAL COURT re. Miller vs. PM
Neutral Citation Number: [2019] EWHC 2381 (QB)
Case No: CO/3385/2019
Author
Wallace-Macpherson
Researcher
Integral Studies
Guildford and Berlin