As a result of the referendum held in the United Kingdom in 2016, the majority of the country’s population decided that the United Kingdom would leave the European Union. Then, on January 24, 2020, the European Union and the British government signed the Withdrawal Agreement, which was approved by the Council of the European Union. Britain officially left the European Union on January 31, 2020.
Some British citizens have brought claims to the General Court for loss of rights attached to their EU citizenship, but these claims have been dismissed. The Court of Justice of the European Union, in its current ruling, has also rejected appeals by the British citizens concerned against previous decisions of the General Court – the EU’s judicial body said in its announcement.
In three separate cases brought by them, British citizens resident in the United Kingdom and various member states unsuccessfully challenged the Brexit deal and the Council’s decision, on the grounds, among other things, that the latter had the effect of depriving them of their rights acquired and exercised as citizens of the European Union.
By court order, the claims were dismissed as inadmissible.
According to their arguments, the loss of legal status for EU citizens and the accompanying loss of rights is only an automatic consequence of the UK’s sovereign decision and cannot be derived either from the Withdrawal Agreement or from the approval decision of the Council of the European Union.
The court concluded that the British subjects had no interest in the proceedings, and so the court was right to dismiss the allegations as inadmissible.
Cover photo: Shutterstock.
