Europe

Scottish High Court Rules UK Parliament Suspension Unlawful

The ruling is so significant that the court's website crashed from too many people trying to read it.

Scottish High Court Rules UK Parliament Suspension Unlawful
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's suspension of Parliament has been ruled illegal by Scotland's highest civil court. The decision was released on Wednesday, and full findings will be released Friday.

It's a highly anticipated ruling — so much so that the court's website crashed from too many people trying to read it. The U.K.'s shadow Brexit secretary told Sky News: "It's a very powerful judgment. And it is incredible in one sense, that the judges have gone into this space, used the language they have, saying that essentially the prime minister, his real motive was to frustrate the process and to shut down Parliament."

Parliament is currently prorogued — that's the official term for the formal end of Parliament between sessions. It's set to start back up Oct. 14, when the queen gives a speech that marks the start of a new session. It's not abnormal for a new prime minister to prorogue in order to reset Parliament's agenda, but the proximity to the Oct. 31 deadline to make a deal on Brexit led to three legal challenges.

It isn't clear yet how the ruling will affect when Parliament will start back up. While the Scottish court ruled the suspension illegal, London's high court ruled it legal last week.

Both rulings will be appealed in the Supreme Court next week. The third challenge is still being heard in Belfast.

Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.