Brexit: Civil Justice Cooperation - minister to give evidence to EU Justice Committee

The report 'Brexit: justice for families, individuals and businesses?' looked at what alternative plans the Government has to replace the loss of EU Regulations which govern cooperation in civil and family law in the UK post-Brexit.

In the areas of civil and family law, EU Regulations provide certainty on what jurisdiction should hear disputes whilst also allowing for the automatic recognition and enforcement of judgments throughout the EU. The report considers how the loss, post-Brexit, of this important EU legislation will affect future legal proceedings on issues including divorce; custody of children; medical negligence claims; and employment disputes.

Lucy Frazer QC MP will give evidence to the Committee at 10.30am, and will be asked questions including:

• What progress has the Government made towards agreeing the provisions in the draft Withdrawal Agreement addressing the application of the Brussels regime during the transition period (Article 63)?
• In March 2017 our report warned that the uncertainty caused by Brexit in this area was having an impact on the UK's market for legal services. 16 months later, what is the Government's assessment?
• In her Mansion House speech, in March, the Prime Minister said: “We will want our agreement to cover civil judicial cooperation” concluding: “We know what we want … so let's get on with it”. Beyond a deep and special relationship, what exactly does the Government want in the area of civil judicial cooperation?
• The Bar Council told us that it is a “matter of real concern” that the Council's negotiating guidelines of March 2018 only referred to judicial cooperation in “matrimonial, parental responsibility and other related matters”. Has the Government persuaded the EU 27 to widen the discussion to include all current civil judicial cooperation?
• During the debate of our report the Government Minister suggested that there "is no legal barrier to us becoming a party to the Lugano Convention". What steps has the Government taken to secure the UK's participation in the Lugano Convention after December 2020?
• The Government's formal response to our report said that should it fail to reach an arrangement with the EU27 on future civil justice cooperation it is considering how “ongoing cooperation in this area could be wound down”. Eight months later, what has the Government concluded?

The session will take place in Committee Room 3 and will be chaired by the Earl of Kinnoull in the absence of Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws.