Defending the decision that the Electoral Commission failed properly to apply the law

On Thursday the Good Law Project will be in the Court of Appeal defending the finding of the High Court that the Electoral Commission failed properly to apply electoral law during the EU Referendum.

If you recall, the Good Law Project launched a judicial review into (1) the Electoral Commission’s failure to investigate whether Vote Leave had breached electoral law in relation to referendum overspending and (2) the Electoral Commission’s misunderstanding of the law governing the ‘spending together’ rules. In relation to (1) the Electoral Commission agreed to reopen its investigation and ultimately concluded that Vote Leave had broken the law. In relation to (2) the High Court decided that the Electoral Commission had misunderstood the law. The consequence was that the Electoral Commission – the body in charge of ensuring the referendum was fair – tilted the playing field in favour of leave.

The decision of the High Court can be seen here and materials relating to the consequences of the decision can be seen here.

You can read the skeleton arguments for the Good Law Project here and the Electoral Commission here.