Category: European Union
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Robert Craig: Why Royal Consent Is Required for the Proposed Article 50 Extension Bill
I wrote recently on this blog about the issue of Royal Assent. This post concerns the wholly separate issue of Royal Consent which is a requirement for those rare Bills that would affect the royal prerogative. The possibility of a no deal exit has led Yvette Cooper MP to propose a Bill, the European Union…
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Michael-James Clifton: Parliament’s Role in Withdrawing from the EEA, and Difficulties in Ratifying the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement
Introduction The importance and role of the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement has often been overlooked. Yet, as the UK exits the European Union, the question of the UK’s desired relationship with not only the EU27 but also the EEA30 has never been more live. In a previous blog post I argued that the UK…
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Michael-James Clifton: The UK’s Creative Ambiguity towards the EEA: Immediate and Future Relationship Problems
Introduction The importance and role of the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement has often been overlooked. Yet, as the UK exits the European Union, the question of the UK’s desired relationship with not only the EU27 but also the EEA30 has never been more live. This blog post contends that the UK has not given…
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Jack Simson Caird and Ellis Paterson: Could the UK Courts Disapply Domestic Legislation to Enforce the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland?
If the Withdrawal Agreement is approved, then Parliament will be asked to legislate to give domestic legal effect to its content through the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill. One of the most significant provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement, Article 4, purports to give the entire contents of the Withdrawal Agreement special status within the UK’s constitutional…
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Alexandra Sinclair and Joe Tomlinson: Deleting the Administrative State?
A key public law discussion in recent months concerns the vast number of statutory instruments (SIs) government is using to implement Brexit. Initially, it was said by government that c.800-1,000 SIs were required. That estimate has now been revised down to c.600 (while the estimated number of SIs has decreased the size of individual SIs…
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Stephen Laws: Why a Money Resolution with Queen’s Recommendation Is Required for a Bill for the Postponing or Cancelling of “Exit Day”
In a post on this blog yesterday, Andrew Denny argued that I was wrong to suggest that a money resolution, with Crown recommendation, would be needed under the Standing Orders of the House of Commons for a provision of a Bill for the purpose of securing the postponement of the expiry of the UK’s Article…
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Andrew Denny: Would a Bill Seeking an Article 50 Extension Require a Money Resolution Proposed by the Government?
Introduction The on-going constitutional laboratory experiment that is Brexit has now turned to the question of whether a bill proposed by a backbench MP can be passed into law against the express opposition of the Government. This scenario gives rise to a number of issues, including whether Parliamentary rules in the form of its standing…
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Robert Craig: Could the Government Advise the Queen to Refuse Royal Assent to a Backbench Bill?
Introduction As is well known, the Government’s Withdrawal Agreement was voted down in Parliament last week by 230 votes in a ‘meaningful vote’ mandated under s 13(1) of European Withdrawal Act 2018 (‘EUWA’). This led to the Opposition tabling a formal vote of no confidence in the Government under the Fixed-term Parliament Act 2011 (‘FTPA’).…
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Weekly round-up of events
This week’s event announcement is below. ~~~ ICON-S British-Irish Chapter Annual Conference The United Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European Union (?) Domestic and European Constitutional Implications University of Strathclyde, 24 – 25 April 2019 CALL FOR ABSTRACTS The UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU involves a major change to – and major test of…
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Kenneth Campbell: Constitutional Dogs That Barked and Dogs That Did Not: The Scottish Continuity Bill in the Supreme Court
Introductory Somewhat overshadowed by the Wightman saga, and the unscheduled Conservative leadership demarche, the UKSC decision in the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity)(Scotland) Bill compatibility reference was handed down in the same week in December. It will be argued this decision contains more of lasting constitutional significance which lies both in the…