LONDON - The United Kingdom's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson acted unlawfully when he advised Queen Elizabeth to suspend parliament just weeks before Brexit and that therefore the legislature had not been prorogued.
"The decision to advise her Majesty to prorogue parliament was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification," Supreme Court President Brenda Hale said.
The ruling was a unanimous decision by the court's 11 presiding judges.
"Parliament has not been prorogued. This is the unanimous judgment of all 11 justices," Hale said. "It is for parliament, and in particular the speaker and the lords speaker, to decide what to do next."
Parliament was suspended, or prorogued in the British jargon, from Sept. 10 to Oct. 14. The prorogation was approved by Queen Elizabeth, Britain's politically neutral head of state, acting on the advice of the prime minister as she is required to do under the country's complex, uncodified constitution.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
LONDON - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sparked fury Wednesday among pro-Europeans and MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit by forcing the suspension of parliament weeks before Britain's EU departure date.
The pound slid on the surprise news, which opponents branded a "coup" and a "declaration of war" but Johnson claimed was necessary to allow him to pursue a "bold and ambitious" new domestic agenda.
It came a day after opposition parties vowed to seek legislative changes to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
Queen Elizabeth II approved the request to end what has been the longest session of parliament in nearly 400 years in the second week of September, and reopen it on October 14 -- just over two weeks before Brexit.
Thousands of people protested in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and other cities on Wednesday evening, as an online petition decrying the decision neared one million signatures.
At the biggest rally, crowds gathered near parliament in London chanting "stop the coup" and waving EU flags.
"Parliament will have the opportunity to debate the government's overall program, and approach to Brexit," Johnson, who leads the Conservative party, vowed in a letter to MPs.
However, his decision incensed lawmakers vehemently against Britain leaving the EU without a deal on October 31 as they will now have less time to try and thwart such a scenario.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, denounced the move as "a smash-and-grab against democracy" and reiterated he would call a no-confidence vote in Johnson's government, which commands a majority of just one seat.
Former chancellor Philip Hammond also pledged to keep fighting against no deal.
"It would be a constitutional outrage if parliament were prevented from holding the government to account at a time of national crisis," he said.
'COMPLIANT PM'
US President Donald Trump weighed into the row by praising Johnson as "great" and claiming it would be "very hard" for Corbyn to topple him in a no-confidence vote.
The Labour leader shot back, tweeting Johnson was "a compliant Prime Minister who will hand Britain's public services and protections over to US corporations in a free trade deal".
In the seismic 2016 referendum on Britain's EU membership, 52 percent voted in favor of leaving the bloc, a result that has left parliament and the country bitterly divided.
Johnson insists Britain must leave by the October 31 deadline -- already twice-delayed -- with or without a divorce deal from Brussels.
Parliament has rejected three times the withdrawal agreement struck between Brussels and the government of Johnson's predecessor Theresa May.
Opposition lawmakers called it a "blind Brexit" while euroskeptics objected to a so-called "backstop" provision to keep the Irish border open for people and goods, which would keep Britain closely aligned with the EU.
Johnson wants the EU to drop the backstop measure entirely -- something Brussels has repeatedly ruled out.
In Paris, Britain's Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told a business conference Wednesday the EU would be blamed for a "lack of flexibility" on the backstop issue in the event of no deal.
The government's chief Brexit adviser David Frost was in Brussels for talks, but an EU summit on October 17-18 will likely determine whether there is any scope for compromise.
If not, Britain will end its 4 decades of membership without a deal governing future trade relations and citizens rights.
The pound slumped more than one percent at one point but shares rose as London-listed multinationals stand to gain from a weaker currency.
'TINPOT DICTATOR'
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused Johnson of acting like a "tinpot dictator" by pushing through an "outrageous assault on basic democratic principles".
Meanwhile, Ruth Davidson, Conservative leader in Scotland, was set to resign Thursday in part due to opposition to Johnson's hardline Brexit strategy, according to reports.
More than 70 parliamentarians have launched a fast-track legal bid at the highest civil court in Scotland, aimed at preventing Johnson from suspending parliament.
Lawyers for Gina Miller, a businesswoman and leading anti-Brexit campaigner, said they were also challenging parliament's suspension in English courts.
Parliament typically goes into recess around the annual party conference season, which kicks off on September 14 and ends on October 2.
Robert Craig, a constitutional expert at Durham University, said there was "theoretically absolutely nothing wrong" with the suspension, noting it was normal for a new leader to start a fresh parliamentary session.
"But the reason that it is causing outrage is because it's reducing the number of available days for parliament to stop a no-deal."
John Bercow, the speaker of parliament's lower House of Commons, who was not forewarned about Johnson's suspension decision, labelled it a "constitutional outrage".
"It is blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now would be to stop parliament debating Brexit," he said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
CARACAS - Anibal Garcia chooses to make light of a situation which has left him and many other residents of Caracas unsure as to who is in charge of Venezuela.
"Brilliant! We have 2 of everything in this country: 2 parliaments, 2 presidents," says the street vendor, 63.
Prolonged economic crisis has now been joined by high-stakes political turmoil in the country whose official president is Nicolas Maduro, but where National Assembly chief Juan Guaido on Wednesday proclaimed himself in charge, on an acting basis. Guaido pledged to install a transitional government and hold free elections.
"I think we deserve a prize, don't we? The Guinness records!" Garcia says, counting the money he made during the day -- a rarity since cash has become almost impossible to find in an economy where inflation is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to hit 10 million percent this year.
The rivalry at the country's top is reflected at the legislative level.
The National Assembly is the sole institution controlled by the opposition, but the official regime has stripped it of its power since 2017, in favor of a Constituent Assembly made up of regime loyalists.
The doubling-up doesn't stop there, either.
Venezuela is home to a supreme court and an attorney general on the side of Maduro, but their equivalents are based in exile overseas, supported by the opposition.
On Wednesday Guaido said he would "formally assume national executive powers" to end the "usurpation" of power.
"Maduro is supposed to be president but he is not really liked by the Venezuelan people," Garcia said.
"My candidate is Guaido, whether or not that pleases certain people."
'WHO IS THE REAL ONE?'
In Chacaito district, residents have a lot to worry about in an economically-collapsed nation with hyper-inflation and shortages of food and medicines.
"It's madness," says one.
"Oh, that someone should come to free us," says another, while a third vows he won't accept "an unknown" as head of the country.
Each passerby has a different reply when asked who is president of Venezuela.
"Apparently there are 2: Maduro and Guaido, but who is the real one, nobody knows. Legally, it's Maduro but internationally it's Guaido," says Antonio Vera, 30, a computer scientist.
The United States, Canada and major South American governments have already recognized Guaido, and on Saturday the European Union and several of its member states said they, too, would endorse Guiado unless Maduro, in power since 2013, calls new elections within eight days.
Vera, shrugging his shoulders, says he prefers not to talk about the subject, "which we will settle among ourselves."
Guaido, 35, says he is acting according to the Constitution, after Maduro was sworn in on January 10 for a second mandate following an election dismissed by the US, EU and UN as a sham.
Maduro has accused Washington -- the first to recognize Guaido as president -- of being behind an attempted coup.
China, Russia, Cuba and Bolivia continue to back Maduro.
STILL JOKING
"Nicolas is the president of Venezuela but the country is doing so badly. It is in such a bad state, so sad," laments Maria Aurora Fuentes, 70, who thinks "it's not good" what Guaido did.
"It's because of that that everything isn't going well, because of others who don't want (Maduro). They have attacked him since he began his term," she says.
Yosmar Landaeta, 39, a nurse, is of the same opinion.
"Each has his version of the facts, but it's still Maduro" who is president, she said.
Jose Rodriguez, on the other hand, does not hesitate when asked who is in charge: Juan Guaido, says the musician, 22.
"He's the only one who did things according to the Constitution, who has not misled the people," Rodriguez said.
Some even have trouble remembering the name of the relatively young leader of the National Assembly, Guaido, who had been largely unknown to the public, but they still support him.
The president is the "gentleman who just launched himself, the one who they say proclaimed himself. I think we are going to give him a chance," said Thais Jiminez, 46, a hotel cleaner.
In the middle of this confusion, Venezuelans have not lost their sense of humor.
As the satirical website Chiguire Bipolar asked this week: "If I want to make fun of the president, which one do I choose?"
source: news.abs-cbn.com
