C-621/18 Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union

E650450

Court of Justice of the European Union judgment landmark EU law case preliminary ruling procedure case

C-621/18 Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union is a landmark Court of Justice of the European Union judgment that clarified that a Member State may unilaterally revoke its notification to withdraw from the EU under Article 50 TEU, provided the revocation is unequivocal and follows constitutional requirements.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
C-621/18 Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union canonical	1
Case C-621/18, Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, EU:C:2018:999	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T7232457 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: C-621/18 Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
Context triple: [Article 50 TEU, interpretedInCase, C-621/18 Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union]

A. R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union is a landmark 2017 UK Supreme Court case that held the government must obtain parliamentary approval before triggering Article 50 to leave the European Union.
B. European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 is a key UK law that provided the legal framework for leaving the EU by repealing the European Communities Act 1972 and converting existing EU law into domestic legislation.
C. Joint Committee under the Withdrawal Agreement
The Joint Committee under the Withdrawal Agreement is a UK–EU governance body responsible for overseeing and implementing the terms of the Brexit withdrawal deal and resolving related disputes.
D. Brexit
Brexit is the process by which the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union, reshaping its political and economic relationship with Europe.
E. Withdrawal Agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union
The Withdrawal Agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union is the legally binding treaty that set out the terms of the UK's orderly departure from the EU, covering issues such as citizens' rights, the financial settlement, and transition arrangements.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: C-621/18 Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
Target entity description: C-621/18 Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union is a landmark Court of Justice of the European Union judgment that clarified that a Member State may unilaterally revoke its notification to withdraw from the EU under Article 50 TEU, provided the revocation is unequivocal and follows constitutional requirements.

A. R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union is a landmark 2017 UK Supreme Court case that held the government must obtain parliamentary approval before triggering Article 50 to leave the European Union.
B. European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 is a key UK law that provided the legal framework for leaving the EU by repealing the European Communities Act 1972 and converting existing EU law into domestic legislation.
C. R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame Ltd
R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame Ltd is a landmark UK constitutional law case in which the House of Lords affirmed the supremacy of European Community law over conflicting domestic legislation and allowed for the suspension of an Act of Parliament.
D. Joint Committee under the Withdrawal Agreement
The Joint Committee under the Withdrawal Agreement is a UK–EU governance body responsible for overseeing and implementing the terms of the Brexit withdrawal deal and resolving related disputes.
E. Brexit
Brexit is the process by which the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union, reshaping its political and economic relationship with Europe.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Court of Justice of the European Union judgment ⓘ landmark EU law case ⓘ preliminary ruling procedure case ⓘ
applicants	Andy Wightman and Others ⓘ
areaOfLaw	EU constitutional law ⓘ EU institutional law ⓘ
caseNumber	C-621/18 ⓘ
chamber	Full Court ⓘ
citation	Case C-621/18, Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, EU:C:2018:999 ⓘ linked to: C-621/18 Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
clarifiedConcept	nature of Article 50 TEU notification ⓘ reversibility of the decision to withdraw from the EU ⓘ rights of a Member State during withdrawal process ⓘ
conditionForRevocation	revocation must be decided in accordance with the Member State’s constitutional requirements ⓘ revocation must be notified in writing to the European Council ⓘ revocation must be unequivocal and unconditional ⓘ
context	Brexit ⓘ United Kingdom’s notification under Article 50 TEU on 29 March 2017 ⓘ
court	Court of Justice of the European Union ⓘ
decisionDate	2018-12-10 ⓘ
defendant	Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union ⓘ
ECLI	ECLI:EU:C:2018:999 ⓘ
effect	confirmed that a valid revocation results in the Member State remaining in the EU on unchanged terms ⓘ influenced constitutional and political debates in the United Kingdom ⓘ
importance	clarified legal options available to the UK Parliament during Brexit process ⓘ established that revocation does not require consent of other Member States ⓘ
interpretationMethod	reference to Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties ⓘ systematic interpretation of EU Treaties ⓘ teleological interpretation of Article 50 TEU ⓘ
keyHolding	A Member State may unilaterally revoke its notification of intention to withdraw from the EU under Article 50 TEU ⓘ
languageOfProceedings	English ⓘ
legalBasis	Article 267 TFEU ⓘ Article 50 TEU ⓘ
memberStateConcerned	United Kingdom ⓘ
originatingJurisdiction	Court of Session, Inner House, Scotland ⓘ linked to: Court of Session Inner House
partyRole	United Kingdom as notifying Member State under Article 50 TEU ⓘ
principleInvoked	principle of sincere cooperation ⓘ right of a Member State to remain in the European Union ⓘ sovereignty of Member States to determine whether to withdraw from the EU ⓘ
procedureType	preliminary reference under Article 267 TFEU ⓘ
questionReferred	whether a Member State can unilaterally revoke its Article 50 TEU notification ⓘ
relatedInstrument	Treaty on European Union ⓘ Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ⓘ Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties ⓘ
shortName	Wightman ⓘ
subjectMatter	revocation of Article 50 TEU notification ⓘ withdrawal of a Member State from the European Union ⓘ
temporalScope	revocation possible as long as the two-year period in Article 50(3) TEU, as extended, has not expired ⓘ revocation possible as long as withdrawal agreement has not entered into force ⓘ

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Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Article 50 TEU → interpretedInCase → C-621/18 Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union ⓘ

C-621/18 Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union → citation → Case C-621/18, Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, EU:C:2018:999 ⓘ

linked to: C-621/18 Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union

All labels observed (2)

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Statements (48)

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Referenced by (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

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