The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (“REUL Act“)and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (“FSMA 2023 “)received the royal assent yesterday. These two pieces of legislation mark a step forward in the efforts to remove EU derived law from the UK Statute Book, except where required to comply with international obligations (for example, under the Northern Ireland Protocol to the Withdrawal Act or the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU.) The REUL Act  The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended) (“Withdrawal Act“) had already limited the applicat ..read more

Kemi Badenoch, the Minister responsible for retained EU law, yesterday announced a change of plan on the abolition of retained EU law and its replacement by purely domestic law, available here (and see also a related announcement here).  This is reflected in proposed Government amendments to be made during the Report Stage of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill in the House of Lords next week. Instead of abolishing all retained EU law not specifically saved (and committing to get rid of even that body of law by end 2026) some 600 pieces of retained EU law set out in the propo ..read more

The post below was first published on our Corporate notes blog: — The Government has also laid the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill in Parliament today. In order to avoid leaving gaps in the UK legal system when the UK withdrew from the EU, the body of EU law in force at the end of 2020 was imported into UK law, and the UK legislation that implemented EU law was retained, under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (with necessary amendments). This body of law is called “retained EU law”. The Bill published today follows a Government announcement in February ..read more

In a speech delivered at Mansion House on 19 July 2022, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP, sets out the government’s vision for the future of UK financial service and discusses proposals which aim to keep the UK “the most open, inclusive, welcoming, competitive, safe, and transparent place to do financial services business, in the world”. The government’s vision for a “more open, competitive, green, and technologically enabled” financial sector is being delivered in the form of the Financial Services and Markets Bill (Bill) which was introduced in Parliament today. S ..read more

On 13 June, the United Kingdom Government introduced to Parliament the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill that would unilaterally override the main content of the Northern Ireland Protocol (the “Protocol”) contained in the Withdrawal Agreement by which the UK left from the European Union. This is the culmination of a long period of dissatisfaction with the Protocol in the UK. The UK is not implementing the parts of the Protocol concerning customs checks in full and has been requesting a number of changes. The absence of full implementation has led the European Commission to initiate infringement p ..read more

Public authorities must prepare as the new post-Brexit subsidy control regime in force this autumn proves more heavy-handed than expected. On 28 April 2022, the UK’s Subsidy Control Bill received Royal Assent, becoming the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the Act). Although the UK’s domestic subsidy control regime now has statutory footing, most of the Act has not entered into force, meaning the interim regime based on the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) remains applicable. However, change is coming, and the new regime is expected to be operational during autumn 2022. While key elements i ..read more

The post below was first published on our Policy Matters blog. With Brussels and Downing Street at loggerheads our podcast assesses the prospects for “no deal” in 2022. Paul Butcher, Director of Public Policy and previously Brexit Director, talks to Eric White, Consultant in our Brussels office, who spent over 30 years until 2016 in the European Commission’s Legal Service where, amongst other things, he led the Trade Policy and WTO team. Discussion includes: What the current disagreement between the EU and UK is about; What the UK is threatening to do if its demands are not satisfied; Wh ..read more

The dispute over the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to the UK Withdrawal Agreement is proving hard to implement. The European Parliament Research Service has produced a useful summary. The UK government has even suggested reneging on it but pulled back following howls of objections, not least from within the UK itself.  It has since proposed changing or replacing the Protocol and there has been an intensive debate (see here for an account).  Most recently, the UK Chief Negotiator on Brexit, Lord Frost, has now p ..read more

For many years, commercial parties across the globe, and particularly in Europe, have preferred to enforce their English law-governed agreements, and resolve their disputes, in the courts of England. This combination has been selected for many good reasons, including: the independence and expertise of the English judiciary and the efficiency of the court process; and the existence of a solid body of law (including general contract law principles), applied by the courts with care and predictability. Accordingly, parties can assess the legal effect of contractual terms in advance – a considerabl ..read more

The post below was first published on our Litigation blog The European Commission has presented a “note verbale” to the Swiss Federal Council as Depositary of the Lugano Convention regarding the UK’s application to accede to the Convention, submitted on 8 April 2020. This states that: “The European Commission, representing the European Union, would like to notify to you that the European Union is not in a position to give its consent to invite the United Kingdom to accede to the Lugano Convention.” As we have previously reported, the Commission had already confirmed its view that the EU should ..read more