Story highlights Supreme Court grants UK government permission to appeal

Hearing dates set, decision likely next year, court says

London (CNN) Scotland plans to throw its weight behind a legal battle against the British government to stop it from kicking off "Brexit," First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's office said Tuesday.

Last week, the High Court ruled that the British government must seek the permission of parliament before it could trigger Article 50, the legal mechanism needed to officially begin the process of pulling out of the European Union. The British government plans to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court next month.

"The Scottish Government is clear that triggering Article 50 will directly affect devolved interests and rights in Scotland. And triggering Article 50 will inevitably deprive Scottish people and Scottish businesses of rights and freedoms which they currently enjoy," Sturgeon said in the statement.

"It simply cannot be right that those rights can be removed by the UK Government on the say-so of a Prime Minister without parliamentary debate, scrutiny or consent. So legislation should be required at Westminster and the consent of the Scottish Parliament should be sought before Article 50 is triggered."

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Scotland said it would apply to join the battle as soon as the UK officially lodged its appeal with the Supreme Court. The court later Tuesday said that the British government had already submitted its intention to appeal and that it had been granted permission to do so.

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