How will the UK and the EU cooperate on laws post Brexit? Lords to investigate
The House of Lords EU Justice Sub-Committee, will continue its short inquiry into the consequence for civil justice cooperation of the loss, post-Brexit, of the Court of Justice of the EU's jurisdiction on Tuesday 13 December. The Committee will hear evidence from leading practitioners in the field of civil and commercial law.
The Brussels I recast Regulation lays down uniform rules to settle conflicts of jurisdiction and facilitate the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments, court settlements and authentic instruments within the EU in civil and commercial matters. Its purpose is to bring predictability to the complexities of civil litigation within the EU's Single Market.
In this session the Committee will explore how important to the operation of the UK-EU legal system the Brussels I recast Regulation is and what aspects the witnesses would be concerned to lose once we leave the EU.
The House of Lords EU Committee and its six Sub-Committees are conducting a coordinated series of short inquiries looking at the key issues that will arise in the forthcoming negotiations on Brexit. Taken as a whole, this programme of work will be the most extensive and thorough parliamentary scrutiny of Brexit.
At 11:00am the Committee will hear evidence from:
- Professor Jonathan Harris QC, Serle Court
- Mr Richard Lord QC, Brick Court Chambers
- Mr Oliver Jones, Brick Court Chambers
The Witnesses will be questioned on:
- Could civil justice cooperation of the kind regulated by this Regulation be maintained via the UK-EU withdrawal treaty once the UK leaves the EU? If so how?
- How important to the operation of the UK-EU legal system is the Brussels I recast Regulation?
- What aspects of the Brussels regime would it be concerning to lose when we leave the EU?
- If this legislation was maintained post-Brexit, given that the Regulations derive from EU legislation and are interpreted by the Court of Justice, how should UK courts interpret them?
- The Government appears to reject any post-Brexit role for the Court of Justice of the EU. What are the implications of its stance for civil justice cooperation by the UK with the remaining EU Member States post-Brexit?
The evidence session will take place at 11.00am on Tuesday 13 December in Committee Room 2A of the House of Lords.
