BRITAIN: Britain's Countryside Alliance brought its anti-hunt ban to the courts yesterday following the government's move to force the ban into the statute books.
The case - which seeks to invalidate the government's use of the Parliament Act through which the House of Commons can force through a law against the wishes of the House of Lords - has been described as the most important constitutional case for a century.
Sir Sydney Kentridge QC, for the Alliance, told Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Mr Justice Collins that legislation used to force through the ban "is not truly an Act of Parliament" and the ban is therefore invalid. The ban is due to come into force on February 18th.
Alliance chairman Mr John Jackson described the legal challenge as probably the "most important constitutional case" the High Court has had to consider, saying it "has little to do with hunting, and much to do with the constitutional arrangements in our country and respect for the law."
The hearing continues today.