Uncategorized

Subscribe to Uncategorized via RSS

Seyfarth Synopsis: The UK Parliament has passed the EU Withdrawal Bill, paving the way for the Government to invoke Article 50, the mechanism for leaving the European Union, by the end of March 2017. 

On March 13, 2017, the UK Parliament passed the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill.  The Bill’s purpose is to allow the Prime Minister to notify the European Union of the United Kingdom’s intention to withdraw from the European Union, through invocation of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has previously indicated that she wishes to make the notification, triggering such withdrawal, before the end of March 2017.  The passing of this Bill now makes such a timetable likely.

What Will Happen Next?

Once Article 50 has been invoked, the United Kingdom will enter into a period of negotiation with the European Union.  The parties have a period of two years to negotiate an exit agreement for the UK.  If no agreement has been reached by the end of the two year period, all EU Treaties that apply to the UK will be void, unless the European Council (comprised of the Heads of all Member States) agrees to continue the negotiations.Continue Reading U.K. Parliament Passes Brexit Bill

Seyfarth Synopsis: Immediate Stay of Trump’s Executive Order has been denied and travel ban remains halted for now.

On Friday, February 3, a Federal District Court in Washington issued a temporary restraining order (TRO), which prohibits the federal government from enforcing President Trump’s January 27, 2017 Executive Order that suspended travel to the United States for certain foreign nationals.  This TRO took effect immediately and is in effect nation-wide.  At present, any foreign national who was impacted by the travel ban can be admitted to the United States.  However, this situation remains fluid and can change any day.

Background

On Friday, January 27, President Trump signed an Executive Order which suspended travel into the United States for nationals from certain designated countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. This suspension in travel took effect immediately, and was to be in place for at least 90 days.  More information on the Executive Order can be found in Seyfarth’s original alert and our updated alert.Continue Reading Federal Court Temporarily Halts Suspension of Travel to U.S. for Previously Affected Foreign Nationals