The UK Supreme Court has ruled that Parliament must vote on and approve of invoking Article 50 which triggers arrangements for leaving the European Union:
The Supreme Court has dismissed the government's appeal in a landmark case about Brexit, meaning Parliament will be required to give its approval before official talks on leaving the EU can begin. The ruling is a significant, although not totally unexpected, setback for Theresa May.
[...] The highest court in England and Wales has dismissed the government's argument that it has the power to begin official Brexit negotiations with the rest of the EU without Parliament's prior agreement. By a margin of eight to three, the 11 justices upheld November's High Court ruling which stated that it would be unlawful for the government to rely on executive powers known as the royal prerogative to implement the outcome of last year's referendum.
Also at NYT, WSJ, and The Guardian.
Previously: Brexit Court Defeat for UK Government
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 26 2017, @08:34AM
I would hazard a guess that the EU would take the court ruling into consideration with regards to 'a designated legitimate authority'.
They didn't when the Danish government did the same thing. I think it was on the patent directive.
The Danish parliament authorized the minister to vote NO to the patent directive, but he went on to vote YES on behalf of Denmark. The directive passed. IMHO, the EU lost all legitimacy for accepting that fraudulent vote.