Tag: European Communities Act 1972
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Roger Masterman: Reasserting/Reappraising Dualism
Dualism is considered a staple characteristic of the UK’s constitutional order. Recognised as a necessary derivative of the concept of parliamentary sovereignty, the notion of dualism is ‘based on the proposition that international law and domestic law operate in independent spheres’ and that interaction between those spheres is formally contingent – in the forum of…
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Nicholas Kilford: The Supremacy of Retained EU Law: ‘We’re Lost, But We’re Making Good Time!’
The UK’s departure from the EU was marked, at least in legal terms, by a curious combination of change and continuity. One key issue ripe for change was the principle of the supremacy of EU law. Vote Leave argued before the referendum that this principle ‘stops the British public from being able to vote out…
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Jeff King and Stephen Tierney: The Constitution Committee Reports on the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill
The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill will make no further progress before the general election. The Bill is however of potentially huge constitutional significance, and a new government could well look to pass it quickly. It was therefore imperative that it be subjected to parliamentary scrutiny in the short period between its forestalled second reading…
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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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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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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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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: Can the Government Use the Royal Prerogative to Extend Article 50?
Introduction The possibility of extending the Article 50 process is being discussed in media outlets and social media. There are a number of potential scenarios where a short extension might be sought: to implement the Withdrawal Agreement in law to manage the process of a no deal Brexit to hold a general election to hold…
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James Segan: The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018: Ten Key Implications for UK Law and Lawyers
On 26 June 2018, after nearly a year of deliberation by Parliament, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (the “Act”) received royal assent. It is a statute of profound importance to the legal systems of the UK. This post seeks briefly to summarise the purpose and architecture of the Act and to outline ten key…