A Scottish judge has dismissed a move to force the Prime Minister Boris Johnson to seek to delay the UK's departure from the EU.
Lord Pentland had been asked to consider the effects of the Benn Act.
He said there "can be no doubt" that the prime minister, through his legal team, has agreed to abide by the law.
The legislation was passed by MPs with the intention of preventing the UK leaving the European Union without a deal on 31 October.
It requires the prime minister to send a letter to the EU formally requesting an extension to the Brexit timetable.
Court orders 'not necessary'
Lord Pentland said the UK government had accepted it must "comply fully" with the act and would not seek to "frustrate its purpose".
As a result, he said there was no need for "coercive orders" against the UK government or against the prime minister.
The petitioners had argued that a series of public statements by the prime minster indicated Mr Johnson was planning to break the law.
However, the judge ruled that the UK government's public statements were an expression of its "political policy" and were "clearly not intended to be taken as conclusive statements of the government's understanding of its legal obligations".
And he said it would be "destructive of one of the core principles of constitutional propriety and of the mutual trust that is the bedrock of the relationship between the court and the Crown" if Mr Johnson reneged on his assurances to the court.
Lord Pentland said that as the prime minister and the government had given "unequivocal assurances" to comply with the 2019 Act, he was "not persuaded that it is necessary for the court to grant the orders sought or any variant of them".
One of the petitioners, Jo Maugham QC, said the decision would be appealed.
He said the ruling has left Mr Johnson with "wriggle room".
"I very much hope the court is right and that the government will - as the government has promised to do - abide by the law," Mr Maugham said.
"But there is very real doubt in my mind that the government will act in accordance with the law and so tomorrow we will pursue our appeal against the decision of the Outer House to the Inner House of the Court of Session, Scotland's highest court."
Timeline: What's happened with the EU letter case?
- 4 September - MPs back a bill aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit on 31 October. The so-called Benn Act says Boris Johnson has until 19 October to either pass a deal in Parliament or get MPs to approve a no-deal Brexit.
- 4 October - The Court of Session in Edinburgh starts to hear a case from Remain supporters who want a legal guarantee that if there is no deal on Brexit Mr Johnson will write a letter to the EU requesting an extension to the deadline.
- 4 October - During that hearing papers are lodged at the court saying the prime minister will send the letter to the EU.
- 7 October - Judge Lord Pentland dismissed the case saying there was "no doubt" that the PM accepted he would comply with the requirements of the act and send the letter in the event of a no deal.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-49959167
2019-10-07 11:56:15Z
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