Category: European Union
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Anthony Arnull: The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill
The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill is intended to give effect in the UK to the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) agreed by the UK with the EU-27 on 1 October 2019. The Bill received its second reading on 22 October 2019 and is currently in ‘limbo’ pending the start of the committee stage. If and when…
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Adam Tucker: A First Critical Look at the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill
In this post, I make a preliminary attempt at assessing the provision made in the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill – or WAB – for the scrutiny of the legislative powers which it delegates to the executive. My conclusions are not positive. The scrutiny procedures it seeks to enact are inadequate – so inadequate that it…
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Mike Gordon: The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill: Parliamentary Sovereignty, Continuity and Novelty
The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill is a highly complex piece of draft legislation. It interacts with the (revised draft) EU Withdrawal Agreement, existing domestic law, in particular the European Communities Act 1972 and the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, and a number of UK constitutional principles. It will have important implications in defining the…
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Anurag Deb: Identity: Northern Ireland’s Gordian Knot
On 14 October 2019, the Upper Tribunal (UT) handed down judgment in SSHD v De Souza, immediately dividing commentators both in and outside Northern Ireland. Briefly, the UT had heard the Home Secretary’s appeal against the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) decision which had declared that the American claimant (respondent in the UT) was entitled to apply…
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Daniel Halberstam: EU Brexit Litigation: A Short Guide to the Perplexed
Given Boris Johnson’s explicit vow that he’d rather “be dead in a ditch” than ask Brussels for an extension, and his consiglieri’s statement that the government would “scupper” any extension by refusing to negotiate because the “duty of sincere cooperation will be down the toilet,” one might be forgiven for thinking that the Government’s strategy—despite…
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Jeff King: The Prime Minister’s Constitutional Options after the Benn Act: Part II
This is the second of a two-part discussion of this theme. The first part addressed the obligations under the Benn Act and the legal response to attempts to frustrate it; this second part addresses non-confidence motions, resignation and change of Government. Heading numbering is continued from Part 1. 5. Non-confidence procedure under the FTPA –…
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Jeff King: The Prime Minister’s Constitutional Options after the Benn Act: Part I
This is the first of a two-part discussion of this theme. This first part addresses the obligations under the Benn Act and the legal response to attempts to frustrate it; the second part will address non-confidence motions, resignation and change of Government. There has been significant confusion about options open to Government and the opposition…
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Rory O’Connell: The Johnson Letter and Cross-community Agreement in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is the part of these islands likely to be most affected by Brexit. As Parliament is currently debating the Government’s proposed new approach to the EU, issues about Northern Ireland require detailed consideration, especially in light of the Good Friday / Belfast Agreement. Bearing in mind the Agreement, the political and constitutional implications…
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Anthony Arnull: Is the UK Supreme Court Pro-EU?
Of all the criticisms levelled by elements of the press and others at the judgment of the Supreme Court in Miller II and Cherry, perhaps the least convincing is that the Justices are pro-EU. It has been widely pointed out that we have no idea whether, and if so how, the Justices voted in the…
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Danny Nicol: Supreme Court Against the People
The chorus that the United Kingdom Supreme Court’s decision on prorogation (R. (on the application of Miller) v The Prime Minister; Cherry and others v. Advocate General for Scotland [2019] UKSC 41) has “nothing to do with Brexit” cannot withstand serious scrutiny. The British electorate’s decision to leave the European Union is the pivot around…