3. 3. Statement: Supreme Court Ruling on Article 50

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:27 pm on 24 January 2017.

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Photo of Mick Antoniw Mick Antoniw Labour 3:27, 24 January 2017

Thank you for those comments. Perhaps if I just deal with the point that the Member made about the Sewel convention being incorporated into the Wales Bill—what will become, hopefully, the Wales Act—that issue was addressed, albeit in respect of Scotland, but this is what the Supreme Court said:

‘it is recognising the convention for what it is, namely a political convention, and is effectively declaring that it is a permanent feature of the relevant devolution settlement. That follows from the nature of the content, and is acknowledged by the words (“it is recognised” and “will not normally”)’.

So, it becomes a permanent feature. It is a feature that cannot disappear or be undermined. It becomes a fundamental part of our constitutional arrangements. With an, effectively, unwritten constitution, what may start off as a political convention can become, over a period of time, a fundamental part of the operating constitution. That is the nature of unwritten constitutions.

He’s right that the door is open. He is right, also, that there are issues in respect of the return of powers that should be within the devolved areas. Those are issues that the First Minister has commented on, that others have commented on from time to time, and that we are very alert to. The fundamental point that he also makes, of course, is this: we have actually seen a hegemony amongst the devolved administrations that I don’t think existed. That doesn’t mean we don’t have disagreements, or have disagreements in terms of perhaps what the longer term agenda may be, but, in terms of the fundamental principles of the rule of law, there was absolute harmony on those particular points, and that is very, very encouraging.