The Edinburgh Court of Sessions will rule on Sep. 2 if the decision taken by the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the temporary closure of Parliament in mid-September is legal
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Johnson Faces Huge Backlash in UK After Suspending Parliament
Johnson's decision to close parliamentary activities has caused a strong rejection among the British, which has begun collecting signatures to try to reverse the situation.
During a half-an-hour hearing held on Friday, Scottish Judge Lord Raymond Doherty rejected a request to place an "interim block", that is, to advance his decision on the legality of the measure, as demanded by the plaintiffs trying to stop Johnson's plans.
In order to hear the arguments of all parties, however, Doherty advanced the session scheduled for September 6 to next Tuesday because, although it has not been proven that there is "the need" for a provisional verdict, this case should be resolved sooner rather than later for the sake of the "interest of justice."
Scotland's highest civil court thus ruled against a lawsuit filed by over 70 British lawmakers who asked Judge Doherty to determine whether or not it is legal to close the House of Commons, a political maneuver whereby PM Johnson seeks to prevent representatives from stopping a "No-Deal Brexit."
Among those who signed the lawsuit are Joanna Cherry, a Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) lawmaker, Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrats leader and Jo Maugham, an activist of "The Good Law Project", an anti-Brexit organization.
If the House of Commons remains closed between September 10 and October 14, opponents of a No-Deal or Hard Brexit will not have much time to debate a new agreement before October 31, the day on which the United Kingdom is expected to leave the European Union (EU).
A break without a negotiated exit agreement would imply, however, severe economic and political problems. One of them is the future development of trade relations among Ireland, the U.K. and the EU countries.
"We all want an agreement but at the moment nothing credible has come from the British Government, in the context of an alternative to the Irish safeguard," the Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said.
In the current withdrawal agreement, which was negotiated by former PM Theresa May, a "backstop" was established to prevent a physical border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.
PM Johnson wants to remove the "Iris Border Backstop" before the Brexit. For its elimination will allow the U.K. to set protectionist measures such as more severe customs controls or taxes on certain goods.