Brexit: UK EU Referendum

Brexit fight far from over as British Government launches Supreme Court battle

Analysis By London bureau chief Lisa Millar
Remain supporters outside the UK Supreme Court.
Photo

Remain supporters outside the UK Supreme Court.

ABC News: Emily Bryan

You could be forgiven for suffering flashbacks.

It was almost as if the UK referendum on June 23rd hadn't happened.

Outside the Supreme Court, protesters from both sides argued the merits of the leave and remain campaigns.

One of them was dressed as a judge and explained why the referendum vote was only advisory and could be ignored.

There's little chance of that.

But, this case and now the appeal is raising a big question about how Brexit is going to happen.

Inside court there was barely room for all the players.

In fact some barristers and lawyers ended up in a neighbouring court watching it via video link.

There were 25 seats for the media in court and another 90 in a media suite.

There's huge interest in this case and the BBC's 24 hour news channel ran it live for the entire day.

It could hardly be called courtroom drama — it's so dry and filled with complex legalities — but it could have hugely significant consequences.

Despite reports in some of the newspapers that the 11 justices had questionable neutrality, when it came to Europe's relationship with the UK, nobody was asked to step aside.

For the first time in history it's a full bench.

And they've got a big job ahead of them.

More Stories