Tuesday 08 November 2016 3:38 pm

Article 50 rematch: Supreme Court hearing dates announced

Government's appeal to the Supreme Court for the Article 50 case is officially on.

The highest court in the country announced today it has set aside four days between 5 and 8 December to hear the appeal, although exactly how long the case will last will depend on what further legal submissions are received.

All 11 of the Supreme Court judges will be among the panel considering the appeal, including Lord Neuberger, president of the Supreme Court. A decision is not expected immediately, and may not be given until the new year.

Last week, three judges in the high court decided government must consult MPs before it could trigger Article 50, and government could not use prerogative alone to start the UK's formal withdrawal process from the EU. At the time, a spokesman said the government was "disappointed" by the judgement.

The high court case was brought by a number of parties, but the lead claimant was fund boss Gina Miller. The case was heard across three days in October.

Yesterday, Brexit minister David Davis confirmed government intended to apply for leave to appeal the case. That permission has now been granted by a panel of three justices, Lord Neuberger, Lord Mance and Lord Kerr.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon earlier today confirmed the Lord Advocate, Scotland's most senior law officer, will be applying to be heard in the case.

Since last week's decision, government has stressed a number of times that the legal timeline should still allow Article 50 to be triggered by the end of March next year as intended.