Todd Bishop
The British Supreme Court ruled on September 24 that Prime Minister Johnson decided that the Congress would be illegal and that Congress would resume later on the 25th. Johnson has left the United Nations General Assembly early and returned to the United Kingdom. What kind of transformation will Brexit take?
What happened? Recalling the mandatory recession announced in August
The incident occurred on August 28, and Johnson announced that the parliament would be adjourned early until October 14th. The final deadline for Brexit is October 31. After the reopening of Congress, there will be no time to debate on the issue of Brexit. Johnson’s actions are seen as forcing the British to lead the Brexit.
The adjournment does not need to be approved or agreed by the Congress. It is a power proposed by the Prime Minister and determined by the Queen of England. Therefore, Johnson’s actions are also regarded as “the Queen of England”.
Did Johnson break the law?
The Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional and was not related to criminal law. The judgment pointed out that Johnson violated the rules of procedure of the parliament and prevented the parliament from fulfilling his duties for the upcoming Brexit. This alone is not enough to prove that Johnson has criminal responsibility.
However, it is necessary to supplement the passage of the bill by the National Assembly in September, requiring the Prime Minister to submit an extension request to the EU if it is unable to reach a Brexit agreement. If Johnson is as saying, “Never die,” Johnson can be truly illegal and criminally responsible.
Did Johnson deceive the Queen of England?
The Supreme Court did not judge Johnson’s request for permission from the Queen, and there is no evidence that Johnson has deceived the Queen.
In fact, according to the British Constitution, the Queen of England must maintain strict neutrality on political issues, so regardless of her wishes, she will not oppose Johnson’s request, and the Queen’s approval of the recess is only a formal meaning.
Resignation, impeachment or no-confidence motion
Members including the Labour Party, the Scottish National Party, and the British Liberal Democrats have asked Johnson to resign, but Johnson has repeatedly indicated that he will not resign when he was interviewed in New York.
It is not known whether Johnson will be able to attend the reopening of the Congress later on the 25th, and believe that Congress will express its position on Johnson’s mandatory recess. Some Labour Party members have indicated that they will launch impeachment. However, the British system has the distinction between impeachment and no-confidence motion. Actually, the United Kingdom has no impeachment procedures since 1806, and Johnson’s chances of impeachment are not high.
It is also unknown whether the opposition leader, Mr. Hao Erbin, will raise a motion of no confidence. Actually, it will take some time to raise a motion of no confidence, debate and vote, and hold a general election. At present, there is only one month left before the Brexit deadline, which is difficult to guarantee in a short time.
Deadline on October 19
As mentioned above, Congress passed a bill in September, stipulating that if the Prime Minister fails to reach a Brexit agreement, it must submit an extension request to the EU, which is October 19th. Whether Johnson is pulled down, resigns on his own, illegally arrested, or surrendered to the EU to request an extension, it will happen within three weeks. The Brexit situation in the UK has received much attention.
