UK Government Outlines Plan for Initial Continuation of EU Law in Post-Brexit UK Law

UK Government Outlines Plan for Initial Continuation of EU Law in Post-Brexit UK Law

March 30, 2017, Covington Alert

Today, the UK Government published a White Paper envisaging an initial continuation of EU law in the UK “wherever practical and appropriate” on withdrawal from the EU (“Brexit”). Today’s White Paper comes one day after the UK notified the EU of its intention to leave which triggers the two-year Brexit negotiation period.

The UK Government intends on achieving this continuation through legislation in the form of the “Great Repeal Bill.” At the same time as removing the legal supremacy of EU law and the formal influence of EU laws in the UK, the Great Repeal Bill will convert the body of existing EU law into UK domestic law. The effect will be that on day one of Brexit, “wherever practical and appropriate,” the same rules and laws of the EU will apply in the UK. Thereafter, the UK Government will review those laws derived from EU law and seek to either amend, repeal, or maintain those laws. Today’s White Paper sets out the UK Government’s plans. The scope of the Great Repeal Bill will likely change once it is proposed as a draft Act of Parliament later this year and after it is debated and reviewed by the UK Parliament.