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EU court to hear French lawyer’s case on illegal Brexit referendum
| Published: | 7 Jul at 6 PM |
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French lawyer Julien Fouchet’s case against the legality of the Brexit referendum is now ready to be presented to the European Union’s General Court.
Two weeks from now, Julien Fouchet’s controversial attempt to stop Brexit in its tracks will be lodged with the EU’s General Court. If the French lawyer’s case is successful, the court’s verdict would stop Brexit negotiations and force a re-run of the referendum in which all expat Britons would be entitled to vote, no matter how many years they’d lived overseas.
Fouchet, an experienced lawyer familiar with General Court procedures, first became aware that not all Britons overseas had been allowed to vote in the referendum when a concerned British citizen asked him for his opinion and help in the matter. Publicity in France’s English language media resulted in others reporting their fury at being unable to vote in a referendum which could destroy their chosen lifestyles, with 10 Britons now formally part of the case. Harry Shindler, long-term resident in Italy, WWII veteran and instigator of the fight against the 15-year rule is one of the 10.
Aware of the high cost of legislation in the EU courts, a UK group of professionals and academics founded the Action for Europe group and started a crowdfunding web page dedicated to paying at least part of the legal expenses incurred. Mr Fouchet had already promised he would keep his own fees to an absolute minimum in order to bring the case to court. Fouchet told the media he was acting out of solidarity within the European Union and in support of British expats in Europe.
The case rests on Fouchet’s legal argument that the Brexit referendum’s result was illegal as long-stay British expats in EU member states as well as around the world were disenfranchised due to the hated 15-year rule, thus breaking EU rulings on equal treatment for all. His argument will rest on his belief that Europe should not even be undertaking negotiations involving an illegal referendum result, meaning that objective-based negotiation directives drawn up by the EU must be put aside. The referendum itself, he adds, should be re-run and must include all British expats of voting age.
Source: Connexion France
Two weeks from now, Julien Fouchet’s controversial attempt to stop Brexit in its tracks will be lodged with the EU’s General Court. If the French lawyer’s case is successful, the court’s verdict would stop Brexit negotiations and force a re-run of the referendum in which all expat Britons would be entitled to vote, no matter how many years they’d lived overseas.
Fouchet, an experienced lawyer familiar with General Court procedures, first became aware that not all Britons overseas had been allowed to vote in the referendum when a concerned British citizen asked him for his opinion and help in the matter. Publicity in France’s English language media resulted in others reporting their fury at being unable to vote in a referendum which could destroy their chosen lifestyles, with 10 Britons now formally part of the case. Harry Shindler, long-term resident in Italy, WWII veteran and instigator of the fight against the 15-year rule is one of the 10.
Aware of the high cost of legislation in the EU courts, a UK group of professionals and academics founded the Action for Europe group and started a crowdfunding web page dedicated to paying at least part of the legal expenses incurred. Mr Fouchet had already promised he would keep his own fees to an absolute minimum in order to bring the case to court. Fouchet told the media he was acting out of solidarity within the European Union and in support of British expats in Europe.
The case rests on Fouchet’s legal argument that the Brexit referendum’s result was illegal as long-stay British expats in EU member states as well as around the world were disenfranchised due to the hated 15-year rule, thus breaking EU rulings on equal treatment for all. His argument will rest on his belief that Europe should not even be undertaking negotiations involving an illegal referendum result, meaning that objective-based negotiation directives drawn up by the EU must be put aside. The referendum itself, he adds, should be re-run and must include all British expats of voting age.
Source: Connexion France
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