Northern Ireland High Court rejects legal challenge to Brexit
Politicians claimed the country should have a veto on exit from the EU and the Stormont Assembly a vote on triggering Article 50.

Northern Ireland's High Court has dismissed the first legal challenge to Brexit.

Mr Justice Paul Maguire said the implications for Northern Ireland were still uncertain after Prime Minister Theresa May said she would not begin exit negotiations before March.

A cross-party group of politicians claimed the country should have a veto on an exit and said the Stormont Assembly should have a say on whether to trigger negotiations with Europe.

Raymond McCord, whose son was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries, had a separate Brexit challenge surrounding its impact on the peace process heard alongside that of the politicians at the High Court in Belfast.

Mr Justice Maguire said: "While the wind of change may be about to blow, the precise direction in which it will blow cannot yet be determined so there is a level of uncertainty, as evidenced by the discussion about how the Northern Ireland land border with Ireland was affected by withdrawal from the EU."

He added: "In respect of all issues, the court dismissed the applications."

The court did not consider the role of Parliament in the calling of talks - separate legal proceedings are taking place in England.

The Belfast case was heard earlier this month and concentrated on the impact on the Northern Ireland constitution of Mrs May's proposed action.

The judge rejected five grounds of appeal, namely that:

:: The Prime Minister's royal prerogative power cannot be exercised to trigger negotiations because it has been displaced by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and associated laws and an Act of Parliament is required

:: If an Act of Parliament is required, the Stormont Assembly should consent to it

:: The referendum result should not be given excessive weight when considering whether to trigger talks

:: The Northern Ireland Office had failed to comply with equality legislation

:: The Good Friday peace agreement which largely ended violence had created an expectation that there would be no change to Northern Ireland's constitutional status without the consent of its people

The judge said it was difficult to see how the court could overlook the fact that the UK Parliament had retained the ability to legislate for Northern Ireland without any special procedure.

A UK Government spokesman said: "As we have always made clear, we stand by our commitments under the Belfast
Agreement and the outcome of the EU referendum doesn't change this.

"We will now await the outcome of the parallel cases under consideration by the England and Wales High Court, before setting out our next steps."

Source: http://news.sky.com/story/northern-irel … t-10635171