The BBC's legal affairs correspondent on the ins and outs of the government's Supreme Court appeal.

The Supreme Court has been preparing for this unprecedented case, from where the judges will be sat through to how many cups of tea they expect to drink over the next four days. 

Here is the Article 50 case in numbers...

• 11 - the number of judges hearing the case
• 25 - the number of seats for the public in the courtroom
• 90 - the number of sets in overflow rooms
• 300,000 - the number of people who can stream the case over the court's website
• 80 - number of journalists accredited to cover the case
• 600 - cups of tea or coffee the canteen expects to serve each day

Image source, Reuters

Victoria Derbyshire

Scotland and Wales are being represented in the court case this week, ensuring both devolved governments get the chance to make their cases to the Supreme Court.  

Stephen Gethins MP, of the Scottish National Party, told the Victoria Derbyshire programme: "We live in a parliamentary democracy and since vote leave didn't give us any details about what their plans were, it is right that we scrutinise any plans. 

"Furthermore, democracy doesn't begin and end in Westminster. Any plans to leave the European Union will have a significant impact on the areas of responsibilities of the Scottish Parliament, as well as the Welsh Assembly and in Northern Ireland as well so it is only right and proper that the Scottish parliament has a say."

Leanne Wood, leader of Plaid Cymru, said: "We accept people in Wales decided to leave. It's the how now. The incompetence and rudderlessness that we see from the Tories in Westminster the lack of a plan, the incoherence..l. there are grave dangers for Wales." 

But Anne Marie Trevelyan, the Conservative MP for Berwick upon Tweed, said: "The government is being very clear. There is a very clear mandate for leave."   

Image source, AFP

Ahead of the start of the Supreme Court hearing, ministers have insisted they have a "strong case" and will "robustly defend" their position.

In recent weeks, the government has made clear that it will be relying on the same arguments as it did in the High Court case - namely that the power to make and withdraw from international treaties rests with the executive through the use of prerogative powers and that Parliament has had numerous opportunities to circumscribe those powers in recent years but decided not to.

A government spokesman said it would not be derailed from its broader political course - which is to begin the official exit process from the EU by the Spring. 

The UK government is accused of becoming "desperate" ahead of its Supreme Court Article 50 appeal.

The site of the Supreme Court is being described as "a media circus" with queues of people trying to get in, journalists trying to get a story and protesters trying to make their voices heard. 

Here are some tweets from people at the scene. 

The Daily Telegraph

Image source, PA

Former Tory leader and Brexit supporter Lord Howard has written in The Daily Telegraph, external, saying he believes triggering Article 50 will stay on track, whatever the decision for the court. 

He said: "Those of us who are committed to the implementation of the referendum need not despair, even if the decision of the Divisional Court is upheld. 

"The Government, we are told, has prepared the legislation that will be needed if that is the way the Supreme Court rules. I do not believe the House of Commons will be prepared to affront the majority of the electorate by voting it down."

Gina Miller has arrived at the Supreme Court for Monday's hearing. Writing in the Guardian, external earlier, the finance manager said the hostile coverage she had received over her legal challenge meant she could no longer travel on public transport, work in her office, or even spend a normal weekend with her family. She suggested that some people had even incited violence against her. 

Ms Miller, who has previously said she has received death threats, insisted that her actions were borne out of her desire to uphold parliamentary sovereignty rather than thwart the referendum decision. 

The UK government dismisses as "tortuous" the counsel general's argument that triggering Brexit without consulting MPs would undermine devolution.

Scotland's Brexit secretary insists it is "right and proper" that the Scottish government is heard during a landmark legal hearing on Brexit.

Here are some of the other stories around today apart from the Supreme Court case:

• May seeks 'new chapter' in Gulf relations ahead of Bahrain visit
• Racial segregation 'growing in UK', Dame Louise Casey warns
• Matteo Renzi: Italy PM resigns after referendum defeat
• Trump attacks China in Twitter outburst

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, PA

The government is seeking to overturn last month's High Court ruling - in which a three-man bench led by the Lord Justice Lord Judge decided that only Parliament had the authority to trigger Article 50 and the prime minister must seek the consent of MPs and peers before doingso.

The ruling sparked controversy with a number of newspapers attacking Lord Judge and his colleagues and accusing them of trying to frustrate the will of the people and overturn the referendum vote. One front page described them as "enemies of the people". 

Labour shadow attorney general, former Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti, told the BBC the criticism had "verged of vilification" and was intolerable. 

Lawyers and supporters are arriving at the court alongside our legal correspondent Clive Coleman. 

There are reports of a police presence, as well as supporters from both sides of the argument turning out for the case.  

"I have never seen anything like this," he told the BBC News Channel. "The world's press, the public queuing up, demonstrators dressed as judges, the atmosphere is quite extraordinary." 

Image source, EPA

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said his party will seek to amend Article 50, before the court case to decide whether it needs to be brought in front of parliament has even taken place. 

The Islington MP told Sky News he respected the result of June's referendum, but he wanted to ensure Britain maintained access to Europe's markets, workers' rights and environmental protection measures.

Read more on the opposition leader's plans here. 

Image source, PA

Who are the main characters in this courtroom drama?

• The legal challenge to the government has been brought, among others, by investment manager Gina Miller. Read a profile of her here
• The case will be heard by all 11 justices of the Supreme Court, led by president Lord Neuberger. Find out a bit more about them here
• The government's legal team will be led by its chief law officer, Attorney General and Conservative MP Jeremy Wright. Ms Miller's legal team is headed by the historian and crossbench peer Lord Pannick
• Two separate but connected Brexit cases brought by Northern Irish campaigners are also being heard at the same time. 
• The Scottish and Welsh governments are both intervening in the case to establish key points of constitutional principle which will have an impact on their future relationship with the UK government and Parliament. Read our guide to what it could mean for Scotland, which voted to stay in the EU. 

The Brexit case, unsurprisingly, has attracted quite a lot of public and media interest. As well as the live broadcast on the BBC, the Supreme Court will have its own live feed of proceedings, external. It will be publishing twice-daily transcripts on its website, external of what is said at about 1600 BST and 1900 BST. 

The court has created additional seating for about 115 members of the public to watch the action in the court itself and adjacent rooms. More than 80 journalists from around the world have been accredited to cover the event. 

One final but rather significant point to note - we will have to wait a little for the final judgement. It won't be handed down on Thursday at the end of the play but will be reserved until a later date. That means we are not expected to know the outcome until next year, probably in January.

Given the legal and political magnitude of the issue at stake, we should not be surprised that the justices may want as much time as possible to deliberate and reach a definitive conclusion. But what happens if they don't?

The BBC's Clive Coleman says there is a "slim chance" that they may decide to refer the case to the European Court of Justice for clarification which, he adds, would be a "bitter irony" given the case resolves around the supremacy of Parliament and the laws that it passes.

Image source, House of Commons

What's the Supreme Court case all about and what could it mean for Theresa May's Brexit strategy? The BBC's legal correspondent Clive Coleman has been examining the main points of law that will be contested and the two sides' likely arguments over issues such as prerogative powers and parliamentary sovereignty. Read his analysis here. What about the politics? Remember prime minister Theresa May has said she intends to officially notify the EU of the UK's decision to leave - thereby triggering formal talks on the process of separation - by the end of March. Should the government lose the case, and that is a big if, that could set the cat among the pigeons and potentially endanger her timetable. The BBC's parliamentary correspondent Mark D'Arcy has been looking at what could happen in this scenario and the government's possible options as it seeks to press ahead with implementing June's referendum vote.

Good morning and welcome. It is not often that the eyes of ministers, MPs and commentators are fixed on the Supreme Court but that will be the case for the next four days. The 11 justices in the highest court in the land will sit on a potentially landmark case with major ramifications for the UK's exit from the EU. The judges will hear the government's appeal against last month's High Court ruling which stated that Parliament's consent was needed before the official Article 50 Brexit process could begin. Monday's proceedings, to be live streamed by the BBC, will begin at 11:00 GMT.