He starts off by referring to the wording of article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which requires the notification of “an intention” to leave, and emphasises that intentions differ from deeds, and as such intentions can change before the actual deed is done. He also quotes several high-ranking politicians and legal experts who opine that a revocation of the article 50 notification is possible, i.a. Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Piris, former director-general of the EU Council’s Legal Service, as well as Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg.

 

He also quotes Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, who had been involved in the drafting of article 50, and who says that a member state can change its mind while the process is going on. Richard Corbett further quotes an academic law article by Aurel Sari for the UK Constitutional Law Association, and Professor Alan Dashwood of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, as well as a the legal opinion provided by Sir David Edward, former judge of the European Court of Justice, Sir Francis Jacobs, that Court’s former Advocate General, and distinguished EU lawyer Sir Jeremy Lever.

 

That legal opinion confirms that the United Kingdom could unilaterally revoke its article 50 notification if the UK parliament would not approve the terms of withdrawal. Richard Corbett expects the European Parliament to make reference to the revocability of the article 50 notification in next week’s resolution on Brexit, potentially requiring however an acceptance by the other EU member states in order to avoid any risk of immediate re-notification in order to extend the negotiation time. He also refers to the general principle of international treaties (as provided for in the Vienna Convention on the law of Treaties), which anticipates that a notification to withdraw from a treaty may be revoked at any time before it takes effect. He therefore sees no justification for the government’s insistence on the irrevocability of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

 

Full article on Richard Corbett's website