A landmark legal challenge against Brexit has been rejected at the High Court in Belfast.
Two separate proceedings, one by a cross-party group of MLAs and another from victims’ campaigner, Raymond McCord, were heard earlier this month.
Mr Justice Maguire ruled there was nothing in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement to prevent the government triggering Article 50 – the formal legal process for leaving the EU.
The UK government welcomed the ruling.
The challenge by politicians from Sinn Féin, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the Alliance Party and the Green Party suggested the UK government could not trigger Article 50 without a parliamentary vote.
They said the Brexit decision should be examined and voted on by parliament or, failing that, by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
They have indicated they intend to appeal against the decision at the Supreme Court, and that this could be heard as early as December.
Mr McCord, whose son was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries and who now campaigns for victims of violence during Northern Ireland’s Troubles, brought the other legal bid.
His legal challenge came amid worries that the Brexit vote could mean an end to EU funding for peace projects that help Troubles victims in Northern Ireland.
His lawyer argued that the Good Friday peace agreement meant Westminster had given sovereignty of Northern Ireland over to its people, and that leaving the EU would have a “catastrophic effect” for the peace process.
Major constitutional changes such as leaving the EU could not therefore be imposed by a Westminster government, Mr McCord’s barrister said.
But Mr Justice Maguire ruled that Prerogative Power could still be used, arguing that triggering Article 50 is merely the start of a legislative process in which acts of parliament will be necessary.
“While the wind of change may be about to blow, the precise direction in which it will blows cannot be determined,” he said.
He concluded that discussing the use of Prerogative Power to enact the EU referendum result was not suitable for a judicial review.
Westminster watching
It had also been argued that the Good Friday Agreement gave the power of sovereignty to the people of Northern Ireland and that the Westminster government could not therefore make Northern Ireland leave the EU.
But Mr Justice Maguire rejected this argument as well, saying he could not see anything in the agreement or the relevant legislation that confirmed the view of the applicant.
Thus all the issues raised by the applicants were rejected by the court.
Welcoming the ruling, a government spokesman said: “As we have always made clear, we stand by our commitments under the Belfast Agreement and the outcome of the EU referendum doesn’t change this.
The case has been closely watched by Westminster, especially as similar hearings in the High Court in London are due for judgement in the near future.
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