Britain's High Court has rejected a lawsuit that sought to halt the country's approval of an EU reform treaty, ending another threat to a pact that has stalled after Irish voters rejected it.
Businessman Stuart Wheeler had brought the case to try to force the government to hold a referendum before ratifying the Lisbon treaty.
"We have found nothing in the claimant's case to cast doubt on the lawfulness of ratifying the Lisbon treaty without a referendum," Lord Justice Stephen Richards said in his ruling.
Stuart Wheeler had brought the case to try to force the British government to hold a referendum before ratifying the treaty
He refused Mr Wheeler leave to appeal in the High Court, saying: "We are satisfied an appeal has no prospect of success."
Mr Wheeler said his lawyers would take the case one step higher and apply to the Court of Appeal for permission to challenge the verdict.
Ireland has been the only one of the European Union's 27 member states to hold a referendum. Parliaments in 19 countries have so far voted to ratify it, including Britain.
The British government had promised a referendum on the EU constitution before it was scuppered, but says it does not need one on the new treaty.
The judge ruled that the question was "in the realm of politics, not of the courts", and he could not force the government to hold a referendum even if it had promised one.
"The decision on the holding of a referendum lay with parliament and it was for parliament to decide whether the government should be held to any promise made."
Queen Elizabeth has formally signed off on the ratification, which means the only step left for Britain is to present it to the EU. The court had asked the government to hold off until today's ruling before carrying out that final step.
Europe Minister Jim Murphy said he was pleased at the ruling and ratification would take place as planned.
"With parliament's approval the government is proceeding to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, which is in our national interest and is a good Treaty for the UK," he said in a statement.
Mr Wheeler said he believed the government still had a "moral duty" to wait until his next appeal. "We had a very conservative court and it would always take a bold court to find against the government in a case of this kind," he told reporters outside the court building.
Britain says it stands by the principle that the treaty cannot come into force without Irish consent, but it and other EU members are still entitled to proceed with ratification.