On January 24, 2017, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled in R v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union that the government must put to a vote of Parliament the triggering of Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union, which would notify the European Union of the U.K.’s intent to leave the EU.  According the press release, the Court reasoned that since the European Communities Act (ECA) that brought the U.K. into the EU and granted rights to British residents was implemented by Parliament, any withdrawal from the EU must also be enacted by Parliament, rather than relying on the June 2016 national referendum. The Court also noted that the statute authorizing the 2016 referendum did not specify its consequences and that “[t]he change in the law required to implement the referendum’s outcome must be made in the only way permitted by the UK constitution, namely by legislation.”