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Simon Hart on the High Court’s judgement in the Parliament Act challenge

As I suggested yesterday the Judges sitting in the Divisional Court did not feel able to uphold our case that the 1949 Parliament Act is invalid. This is no surprise and the case will now go to the Court of Appeal, probably in the second week in February.

For some time our lawyers have made clear the pressures on the Divisional Court of overturning and Act of Parliament. They have always considered that the higher courts are more likely to accept the important constitutional argument that we are putting forward.

The judgement was given verbally but reports will almost certainly be available in tomorrow’s media. We will post any articles, and the judgement as soon as it is available, on the front page of the web site.

Today’s judgement contained nothing which suggests to us that the decision cannot be overturned at appeal. The Judges accepted that we had a legitimate case and that the Court has the power to overturn the Act, although they disagreed with the legal points made. If, however, the Court of Appeal is not prepared to uphold our case we will seek leave to appeal to the Law Lords.

At that stage we might also apply for an injunction to prevent prosecutions under the Hunting Act pending the outcome of the legal challenges. But we will only consider this route if an injunction would represent a real benefit for hunting. I am very conscious that the process is ever-changing, confusing and expensive. However, all of our commitment to it is vital. We have a long way to go and we must remain clearly focused on the objective.

I can only repeat that we should all be ready to face the commencement of the Hunting Act and to use 19th February as an opportunity to expose the Government to the ridicule it so richly deserves for allowing such legislation to be passed in its name. Today’s result is not a surprise, nor does it preclude a successful challenge to the 1949 Parliament Act – and that challenge is only one part of our campaign to repeal the Hunting Act. Furthermore, next week, we attack the Government on another front - via our powerful human rights challenge

The court cases will continue and meanwhile we must all continue to do what we can to support the two other strands of our campaign by engaging in the political process and supporting our local hunts. I cannot tell you whether the Hunting Act will eventually be repealed by the courts or by Parliament, but I remain confident that it will never “stand the test of time”

Simon Hart