PRESS RELEASE RE CHALLENGE RE PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON
HARTE COYLE COLLINS, SOLICITORS & ADVOCATES, BELFAST
28th JANUARY 2021
A border citizen in Northern Ireland has appealed to the Court of Appeal against a decision to refuse leave for a full hearing by way of judicial review before the High Court in Belfast.
The Applicant is appealing a decision by the Senior Judicial Review Judge in the High Court in Belfast on the 9th December 2020 not to adjudicate on whether the Prime Minister allegedly acted in bad faith and for improper purpose in relation to Brexit.
The application for leave to appeal before the Court of Appeal will be heard next Monday 1st February 2021.
Papers were lodged at the High Court in Belfast at the end of October 2020 with the anonymous challenger seeking a court declaration that Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed the Withdrawal Agreement for improper purposes, constituting an act of bad faith.
On Friday the 4th December 2020 the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal granted an interim anonymity order for the border Applicant and referred the challenge to the Senior Judicial Review Judge McAlinden J, in the High Court for an urgent hearing. The judicial review leave hearing in Belfast High Court was heard on Wednesday 9th December 2020. The issue before the both the judicial review court and the Court of Appeal is whether or not the Prime Minister acted improperly and in bad faith in relation to Brexit.
The Applicant’s solicitor, Patricia Coyle, said today:
“The Applicant set out her case extensively in the lower court and asked the Court to direct a response from the Prime Minister Mr Boris Johnson. The Court did not direct or request a response but instead dealt with the legal arguments presented by lawyers acting on behalf of the Prime Minister. This challenge has been ongoing from October 2020. The Prime Minister has yet to provide a simple denial that he acted in bad faith or for improper purposes as alleged by the Applicant. He has simply ignored the issues raised by the Applicant and made no attempt to provide an explanation for the matters relied upon or to provide the information requested by the Applicant. The issue in this case is one of good governance and not simply Brexit. Our client welcomes the opportunity to apply to the Court of Appeal for leave on the 1st February 2021 for leave for a full hearing.”
Harte Coyle Collins
Solicitors & Advocates
02890 278227
