[JURIST] Judges for the UK High Court dismissed a claim brought by the Single Market Justice campaign [advocacy website], which argued that members of parliament should be given a vote on Britain leaving the European Economic Area [official website]. The campaigners asserted that since leaving the EEA was not specifically on last June’s ballot, it must be voted on separately [Telegraph report]. Prime Minister Theresa May [official website] said that Britain will automatically leave the EEA when it leaves the EU. After three minutes of deliberation, the judges turned down the campaign’s claim, saying the issue was “premature” because no decision had been made. It is possible that the campaign will file another claim in the future, which could delay Britain’s negotiations to leave the EU.

A majority of UK voters chose to leave the EU [JURIST report] in June, leading to the resignation of former prime minster David Cameron. Though many questions remain as to how Brexit will be initiated and what the cost will be to the UK economy, May’s administration has remained committed to the nation’s exit from the EU. Despite calls for a second referendum and movements for independence [JURIST reports] within the constituent nations of the UK, the movement remains on track. On Thursday, the UK House of Commons voted [JURIST] to empower May to trigger Brexit.