Scotland’s highest civil court has ruled that British PM Boris Johnson’s suspension of the UK Parliament ahead of Brexit is unlawful. A panel of three judges at the Court of Session found in favour of a cross-party group of politicians who were challenging the prime minister's move.
Five week suspension of Parliament, a process known as proroguing, started on Tuesday. MPs are not scheduled to return to Parliament until 14 October, and UK is due to leave the EU on 31 October.
The Scotland’s Court of Session decision overturns an earlier ruling from the court, which said last week that Mr Johnson had not broken the law.
According to BBC News, the Court of Session judges were unanimous in finding that Mr Johnson was motivated by the "improper purpose of stymieing Parliament", and he had effectively misled the Queen in advising her to suspend Parliament.
Three Court of Session judges said that they disagreed with the earlier ruling by Lord Doherty's because this particular prorogation had been a "tactic to frustrate Parliament" rather than a legitimate use of the power.
"It was to be inferred that the principal reasons for the prorogation were to prevent or impede Parliament holding the executive to account and legislating with regard to Brexit, and to allow the executive to pursue a policy of a no-deal Brexit without further Parliamentary interference.", said Lord Brodie, one of the three judges.
The UK government has appealed against the ruling in the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court in London, and the case will be heard by next week.
There will be a definitive ruling on whether the prime minister acted unlawfully, or not. Through what's known as judicial review, in which independent judges can stop the might of government in its tracks if what ministers have done is unlawful. Because as lawyers like to say: "Be you ever so mighty, the law is above you", reported BBC News.
