European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
Sodacan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Title	European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
Enactment	26 June 2018
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Royal assent	26 June 2018
Status	Partially in force

Contents

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sought to provide legal continuity following the Brexit referendum by repealing the European Communities Act 1972 and converting European Union law into domestic law, establishing a framework for retention and reinterpretation of rights derived from EU institutions such as the European Commission, the European Court of Justice, and the European Parliament. The Act interfaces with instruments and bodies including the Joint Committee on Human Rights, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and devolved legislatures in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, while engaging treaties like the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Background and legislative context

The Act emerged after the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum and was shaped by prime ministers including David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson, with policy influence from figures such as Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, and Amber Rudd, and negotiation context set by the Article 50 TEU withdrawal process and the Withdrawal Agreement discussions involving the European Council and Council of the European Union. Legislative predecessors and comparators include the European Communities Act 1972, decisions of the European Court of Justice and legislative responses like the Scotland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 2006; constitutional actors such as the Attorney General for England and Wales, the Lord Advocate, and the Privy Council influenced drafting. Political movements and parties including the Conservative Party (UK), Labour Party (UK), Liberal Democrats (UK), Scottish National Party, and Democratic Unionist Party framed demands for repatriation of powers, while interest groups like Institute for Government, Resolution Foundation, and Equality and Human Rights Commission provided analysis.

Key provisions repealed the European Communities Act 1972 and created "retained EU law" by saving EU-derived legislation, decisions of the European Court of Justice, and rights under directives and regulations, while preserving direct effect and supremacy in specified contexts and authorising ministers under Henry VIII powers to amend retained law. The Act set exit day and transitional mechanisms interacting with the Withdrawal Agreement and established continuity for statutory instruments connected to the Customs Union and single market rules administered by institutions like the European Central Bank in broader economic contexts involving the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization. It also addressed the status of EU citizens via interfaces with the Immigration Act 1971, the British Nationality Act 1981, and EU social security coordination rules that had been administered through the European Social Fund and the European Committee of the Regions.

Implementation relied heavily on secondary legislation made under powers in the Act, overseen by committees such as the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments and subject to parliamentary procedures including the affirmative and negative resolution processes in the House of Commons and House of Lords. Ministers from departments including the Department for Exiting the European Union, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs used statutory instruments to adapt retained EU law across sectors regulated by agencies like the Financial Conduct Authority, the Environment Agency, and the Health and Safety Executive. Devolved administrations in Holyrood, Cardiff Bay, and Stormont contested aspects under the Sewel Convention and litigation engaged courts including the High Court of Justice and the Court of Session.

The Bill provoked high-profile parliamentary battles involving votes such as the "meaningful vote" and amendments tabled by MPs including Hilary Benn, Jacob Rees-Mogg, and Philip Hammond, with Lords amendments proposed by peers such as Lord Pannick and committees like the Constitution Committee and the European Union Committee. Controversies encompassed the scope of ministerial powers debated by legal figures including the Attorney General Jeremy Wright and critics such as the Bar Council and the Law Society of England and Wales, disputes over the Irish backstop involving Leo Varadkar and Martin McGuinness-era sensitivities in Northern Ireland, and allegations of prorogation tactics associated with the Royal Prerogative and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom decision in the prorogation case involving Boris Johnson and litigants including Gina Miller.

The Act's retention mechanism affected rights originating from directives and regulations enforced by institutions like the European Medicines Agency, the European Aviation Safety Agency, and the European Chemicals Agency, intersecting with domestic statutes such as the Human Rights Act 1998 and instruments from bodies like the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Legal continuity preserved aspects of consumer protection rooted in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and enforced by domestic regulators like the Competition and Markets Authority, while changes to supremacy and retained jurisprudence altered the relationship between UK courts—Court of Appeal (England and Wales), High Court of Justice (England and Wales), Outer House of the Court of Session—and the European Court of Justice.

Litigation following the Act generated a body of case law including landmark decisions by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Court of Appeal addressing ministerial powers, parliamentary sovereignty, and the limits of delegated legislation, with litigants and interveners from organizations such as Open Rights Group, Citizens Advice, and unions like the Trades Union Congress contributing to arguments. Cases engaged constitutional principles debated in precedents like R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and subsequent challenges involving retained EU law interpretation and the status of EU-derived rights heard in courts up to the Supreme Court and referencing comparative jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights and judgments of the European Court of Justice.

Category:United Kingdom legislation 2018