UK HIGH COURT JUDGMENT:BRITISH PRIME minister Gordon Brown has confirmed that the UK cannot formally ratify the Lisbon Treaty until after a high court ruling on a bid by Tory fundraiser Stuart Wheeler to force a British referendum.
The Bill ratifying the treaty completed its parliamentary stages on Wednesday and gained the Royal Assent on Thursday. However formal ratification requires the British government to deposit its "Articles of Ratification" in Rome.
And high court judge Lord Justice Richards intervened yesterday to suggest the government should "stay" its hand until judgment is delivered in Mr Wheeler's case.
"The court is very surprised that the government apparently proposes to ratify while the claimant's challenge to the decision not to hold a referendum on ratification is before the court," the judge said.
Lord Justice Richards confirmed that the court judgment was expected next week. The court direction was reported in some quarters as throwing "a spanner in the works" of the government's ratification plans.
However, speaking in Brussels , Mr Brown said the steps between Royal Assent and formal ratification could take weeks. He added: "The judge has now replied that he expects to give his judgment next week and of course that fits in with our timetable."