An adviser to the European Union's top court has said that the United Kingdom can unilaterally stop Brexit by revoking its decision to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty.
Campos Sánchez-Bordona, who serves as advocate general to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), said Tuesday that he thought EU laws allowed the UK to reverse the Brexit process without gaining the approval of other 27 members of the EU.
The formal opinion come amid an ongoing legal dispute on whether Britain could change its mind and remain part of the EU two years after it announced it was leaving the EU based on results of referendum earlier that year.
Both the British government and the EU have resisted a petition by a group of Scottish lawmakers who seek an ECJ opinion on the issue. They say Brexit cannot be reversed and the UK should leave the EU on March 29, 2019, regardless of how the British parliament decides on a deal signed between the two sides.
However, anti-Brexit campaigners believe Britain should have the option to stop Brexit and remain part of the EU if the House of Commons rejects the Brexit deal on December 11. They say leaving the EU without a deal would create a huge chaos for Britain.
Sánchez-Bordona said in his opinion that UK government was wrong on the case and it was essential for British lawmakers they knew that Brexit can be stopped.
The opinion comes as an emergency ruling by the Strasbourg-based ECJ on the case would come until after the British parliament vote on Brexit deal.