This petition was submitted during the 2015-2017 parliament
Petition Repeal the 1972 European Communities Act immediately on EU Referendum OUT vote.
We need call upon our MPs to repeal the 1972 European Communities Act immediately should the EU Referendum result in a Leave majority vote, thus making membership of the EU null and void, without any further interference from the government or the EU.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
Parliament debated this topic
This topic was debated on 17 October 2016
Government responded
This response was given on 13 July 2016
The rules for exit are set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. As the Prime Minister said on 27 June, this is the only legal way that has been set out to leave the EU.
The rules for exit are set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. The Government set out the process for Article 50 in the policy paper, ‘The process for withdrawing from the European Union’, published on 29 February 2016. Paragraph 3.2 in the paper states that:
The UK’s membership of the EU is established by the EU Treaties, and Article 50 is the process set out in the Treaties for Member States to follow when leaving. It is the only lawful way to withdraw from the EU. It would be a breach of international and EU law to withdraw unilaterally from the EU (for example, by simply repealing the domestic legislation that gives the EU law effect in the UK). Such a breach would create a hostile environment in which to negotiate either a new relationship with the remaining EU Member States, or new trade agreements with non-EU countries.
The House of Lords EU Committee report on ‘The process of withdrawing from the European Union’ of 4 May has also said that “If a Member State decides to withdraw from the EU, the process described in Article 50 is the only way of doing so consistent with EU and international law.”
The Prime Minister said on 27 June in his statement to the House of Commons on the referendum that “the only legal way that has been set out to leave the EU is by triggering Article 50”.
The Prime Minister has been clear that the decision to trigger Article 50 and start the formal and legal process of leaving the EU will be for the next British Prime Minister and the next Cabinet.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Related activity
MPs to debate e-petitions on the UK's exit from the EU
The Petitions Committee has scheduled a debate on six petitions relating to the UK's exit from the European Union, including this one.
The debate will take place on Monday 17 October at 4.30pm in Westminster Hall.
You can watch the debate live on Parliament TV: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Commons
The six petitions that will be debated are:
E-petition 133618: "Invoke article 50 of the Lisbon treaty immediately"
E-petition 125333: "Repeal the 1972 European Communities Act immediately on EU referendum out vote"
E-petition 123324: "The 23 June should be designated as Independence Day, and celebrated annually."
E-petition 154593: "Not to allow freedom of movement as part of any deal with the EU after Brexit"
E-petition 133767: "Ask the Government not to invoke article 50 of the Lisbon treaty"
E-petition 133540: "Let Parliament decide whether or not we remain a member of the European Union"
What will happen?
Paul Scully MP, a Member of the Petitions Committee will open the debate. Other MPs will then take part.
MPs can discuss one or more of the six petitions and, if they wish, ask questions about the government's position on the issue or press the government to take action. A government minister will respond to the points raised at the end of the debate.
Petition debates in Westminster Hall cannot directly change the law or result in a vote to implement the request of a petition. They are a way to help raise the profile of a campaign and could influence decision-making in Government and Parliament.
Other recent work related to your petition in Parliament:
You may also be interested to know that on Wednesday 12 October, MPs debated Parliamentary scrutiny of leaving the EU.
You can watch the debate on Parliament TV: http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/9da7b790-789f-46f3-8fbd-b0cc29e949fb?in=12:56:50
You can read the debate on the Hansard website: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-10-12/debates/F327EC64-3777-4D40-A98D-BEC2E11763A2/ParliamentaryScrutinyOfLeavingTheEU?utm_source=petitions
Who are we?
We are a group of cross-party MPs called the Petitions Committee. We are independent from Government. You can find out more about us on our website: http://www.parliament.uk/petitions-committee/role
You can follow us on Twitter: @HoCpetitions