On the Duty of Loyalty and the De Facto Disassociation of the Chagos Archipelago from the European Union by the UK Authorities in Breach of EU Law

Abstract

This legal Opinion written for and submitted to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales in the context of Bancoult No. 3 proceedings in support of the claimants argues that the treatment of the population of the Chagos archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) by the UK amounted to the breach of EU law amounting, beyond an obvious breach of the duty of loyalty, to an illegal disassociation of BIOT from the EU in breach of the procedural requirements for such a move under the Treaties. Although the Court disagreed, also disagreeing to refer a preliminary question to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the arguments presented here shed light on the scope of the Overseas Countries and Territories’ association with the European Union. The refusal of a British Court to accept these arguments has nothing to do with their validity or invalidity as the Court of Justice has not spoken – and was not given a chance to speak – on the matter.

Keywords: OCT, EU Overseas, BIOT, Chagos, Diego Garcia, Bancoult, Overseas Countries and Territories, Part IV TFEU