The UK House of Commons [official website] voted 494-122 Wednesday to approve HC Bill 132 [text, PDF], which would empower Prime Minister Theresa May [official website] to formally begin the Brexit process. The House of Commons completed its first reading [JURIST report] of the bill late last month, two days after the UK Supreme Court [official website] ruled that the parliament must vote [JURIST report] before the Brexit process can begin. Specifically, the bill would allow the prime minister to notify the EU of “the United Kingdom’s intention to withdraw from the EU” under Article 50 [text] of the Lisbon Treaty. The bill will be taken up by the House of Lords [official website] later this month. Once the upper house of parliament approves the bill, it will be submitted for royal assent. The targeted date of submission for royal assent is March 13.

Uncertainty about when and how the UK will leave the EU has been widespread. Last week judges for the UK High Court dismissed a suit [JURIST report] that claimed members of parliament should be allowed to vote on whether Britain will leave the European Economic Area [official website]. A majority of UK voters expressed their desire to leave the EU [JURIST report] in June, leading to the resignation of former prime minster David Cameron. The EU has set out a mechanism for leaving in Article 50, where a member state “may decide to withdraw from the union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements,” and “must notify the European council of its intention.” Under Article 50, a member country can only be removed from the EU two years after notification. While Britain might bypass this process through repeal of the European Communities Act of 1972, it is believed that this would make coming to a preferential trade agreement with the EU more difficult.