R v Secretary of State for Brexit + The Constitution Due to the terms of the
Transport, ex parte Factortame European Communities Act
(No.2) [1991] 1 AC 603 [1990] 1972, EU law must take
3 WLR 818 precedence over domestic law
unless expressly stated
otherwise. F (+ others) sought
an interim injunction against
the Secretary of State to
prevent him from enforcing
the Merchant Shipping Act
1988 Part 2 against them. The
applicants were companies
with Spanish interests who had
previously enjoyed fishing
rights entitling them to fish
against UK quotas under the
Common Fisheries Policy.
Under the 1988 Act, which
made registration of such
rights compulsory, F and O
were no longer eligible
because of their Spanish
connections (s.14(1)). F and O
applied for judicial review to
challenge the validity of
certain provisions of the 1988
Act on the ground that they
contravened European law
(the provisions of the E.E.C.
Treaty and other rules of law
given effect thereunder by the
European Communities Act
1972) by depriving the
applicants of enforceable
Community rights. The House
of Lords held that the Queen's
Bench Division had exceeded
its powers in granting interim
relief against S, as there was
no jurisdiction in existence to
enable the making of such an
order against the Crown. The
House of Lords then referred a
question to the European
Court of Justice about the
relative status of English and
European law. The European
Court ruled that in cases
concerning community law,
where the only barrier
Transport, ex parte Factortame European Communities Act
(No.2) [1991] 1 AC 603 [1990] 1972, EU law must take
3 WLR 818 precedence over domestic law
unless expressly stated
otherwise. F (+ others) sought
an interim injunction against
the Secretary of State to
prevent him from enforcing
the Merchant Shipping Act
1988 Part 2 against them. The
applicants were companies
with Spanish interests who had
previously enjoyed fishing
rights entitling them to fish
against UK quotas under the
Common Fisheries Policy.
Under the 1988 Act, which
made registration of such
rights compulsory, F and O
were no longer eligible
because of their Spanish
connections (s.14(1)). F and O
applied for judicial review to
challenge the validity of
certain provisions of the 1988
Act on the ground that they
contravened European law
(the provisions of the E.E.C.
Treaty and other rules of law
given effect thereunder by the
European Communities Act
1972) by depriving the
applicants of enforceable
Community rights. The House
of Lords held that the Queen's
Bench Division had exceeded
its powers in granting interim
relief against S, as there was
no jurisdiction in existence to
enable the making of such an
order against the Crown. The
House of Lords then referred a
question to the European
Court of Justice about the
relative status of English and
European law. The European
Court ruled that in cases
concerning community law,
where the only barrier
