By Busra Akin Dincer
LONDON (AA) – Devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales will be allowed to intervene in a U.K. legal case on Brexit, the country’s Supreme Court announced on Friday.
The ruling followed a High Court decision earlier this month which said the British government must consult the U.K. parliament before triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the formal mechanism for leaving the European Union.
The government had appealed that decision to the U.K. Supreme Court.
However, the Scottish Government also claimed that the consent of the Scottish Parliament should be sought before Article 50 is triggered.
Scottish voters overwhelmingly chose to reject Brexit during this year’s U.K.-wide referendum.
In a statement on Friday, the Supreme Court confirmed the Scottish government and the Counsel General for Wales -- the principality’s chief legal officer -- would be able to intervene in the appeal case.
A Supreme Court hearing has provisionally been set for Dec. 7. Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted her government will trigger the Article 50 process before the end of March 2017.
Campaigners have argued only Westminster can authorize the signing of Article 50 and that using royal prerogative to initiate Brexit would be unlawful because it would bypass parliament.