UK Government to Appeal High Court Ruling on Triggering Article 50

The UK government on Thursday said it was disappointed by the High Court ruling stipulating that it does not have the power to trigger Article 50 of the European Union treaty to launch the Brexit process on its own, and that the decision would be appealed.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, the High Court ruled that the United Kingdom cannot trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty without British lawmakers' approval. The case had been filed by the People’s Challenge group that is a crowdfunding campaign demanding a parliament’s vote for launching Brexit and represented by the Bindmans law firm. Hearings began in October.

"The Government is disappointed by the Court's judgment. The country voted to leave the European Union in a referendum approved by Act of Parliament. And the Government is determined to respect the result of the referendum. We will appeal this judgment," the government said in a statement.

Previously, the government planned to trigger the Lisbon Treaty article and launch Brexit negotiations with the European Union before the end of March.

On June 23, the nationwide referendum on EU membership was held in the United Kingdom, in which 51.9 percent of voters said the country should leave the bloc.