Brexit: squaring the circle

Bart Van Vooren is quoted in a Commercial Dispute Resolution article regarding the government's plans for post-Brexit enforcement and dispute resolution. Commenting on the Department for Exiting the European Union's position paper on the topic, Van Vooren says, it is “about much more” than just its title. He adds, “A number of suggested alternate mechanisms to the CJEU are listed, though it is not clear which, if any, the government favours.”

According to Van Vooren, the UK government is playing “smart politics" with this paper. By seeking to achieve legal coherence, through “highly integrated, though separate, legal orders,” like the European Economic Area, both sides could set up “joint committees, technical working groups, and the like,” much as the EU has done with Switzerland or non-EU members within the EEA. Such structures would enable “continuous consultation on future regulation – as well as (legally binding) joint decision-making,” says Van Vooren.