''R (Wilson) v Prime Minister'' EWCA Civ 304
is a

019
EWCA Civ 304
is a judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompat ...

of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum">Brexit Referendum in 2016. The claimants, including Wilson, argued that illegality through Russian interference, criminal overspending by

Vote Leave Vote Leave was a campaigning organisation that supported a "Leave" vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. On 13 April 2016 it was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official campaign in favour of leavi ...

and criminal investigation into the largest donor,

Arron Banks Arron Fraser Andrew Banks (born 1966) is a British businessman and political donor. He is the co-founder (with Richard Tice) of the Leave.EU campaign. Banks was previously one of the largest donors to the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and helped ...

, before and during the referendum undermined the integrity of the result, and rendered the decision to leave void. The application was refused in the High Court. In December 2018, the claimants lodged an appeal to the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

. This was rejected on 21 February.

Facts

Wilson and three others claimed that the Prime Minister's notice to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

of the United Kingdom's intention to leave under

Article 50 Withdrawal from the European Union is the legal and political process whereby an EU member state ceases to be a member of the Union. Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union ( TEU) states that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from t ...

of the

Treaty on European Union The Treaty on European Union (2007) is one of the primary Treaties of the European Union, alongside the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TEU form the basis of EU law, by setting out general principles of the EU's pu ...

was invalid because of multiple findings

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

in the conduct of the referendum. These included, first, the findings of the Electoral Commission that "Vote Leave" officials were guilty of criminal offences for overspending nearly £450,000, second, the Information Commissioner Office criminal penalty against

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

for enabling unlawful appropriation of UK voters' personal data and use in targeted political advertising, and third, the conclusion of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee on ‘Fake News’ that

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

had engaged in "unconventional warfare" through social media to manipulate UK voters. It was also submitted that it was relevant that the

National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and in ...

was investigating

, the largest donor to Brexit, for being unable to show that his donation came from UK sources.C Cadwalladr and P Jones, ‘Arron Banks ‘met Russian officials multiple times before Brexit vote’’ (9 June 2018) Guardian The claimants argued that, on the basis of ''

Ashby v White ''Ashby v White'' (170392 ER 126 is a foundational case in UK constitutional law and English tort law. It concerns the right to vote and misfeasance of a public officer. Lord Holt laid down the important principle that where there is injury in ...

'' and ''

Morgan v Simpson ''Morgan v Simpson'' 975QB 151 is a UK constitutional law case, concerning the right to vote and the integrity of votes and elections in the United Kingdom. Facts Gladys Morgan and four voters in the 1973 election for the Greater London Counci ...

'' that the irregularities in the vote rendered the process of the referendum unlawful at

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

: the extensive

that had been uncovered corrupted the integrity of the vote. It followed that the decision by the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

, to notify the EU of the intention to leave was based on a flawed premise that the referendum could be said to reflect the "will of the people". The Prime Minister argued that the application for judicial review was out of time, that the problems of fraud were well known, and that the Prime Minister had not, therefore, been irrational.

Judgment

High Court

Ouseley J Sir Duncan Brian Walter Ouseley (born 24 February 1950), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Ouseley, is a recently retired High Court judge in England and Wales, Queen's Bench Division. He is notable for involvement in many legal cases reported in the B ...

held that the claim was unduly delayed, and further added that the basis for judicial review lacked "merit". The Court of Appeal decision in ''

'', where

Lord Denning MR Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 when ...

held that votes must be declared void if they substantially violate the law, "relies on quite old cases" and "none of which deal with a referendum". The Venice Commission requirements for a fair question in a referendum and the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

added "nothing in this context".

Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal of two judges rejected an appeal from Ouseley J's refusal to allow permission on 21 February, holding that the claim was both out of time and lacked merit, and it further refused to appeal to the Supreme Court. Its written judgment was reserved, and did not give reasons at the oral hearing for its decision.

Notes

{{reflist, 2

References

*E McGaughey, 'Could Brexit be Void?' (2018
King's Law Journal
and o
SSRN

External links

UK in EU Challenge: website of the claimants
United Kingdom constitutional case law Consequences of Brexit Consequences of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum