The Constitutional Implications of the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018: A Critical Appraisal

Abstract

This paper is an extended version of a talk I gave at the Hart Judicial Review conference in London in December 2018. It also draws on some points I made in a lecture for the Statute Law Society in London on 8 May 2017 on ‘Legislating for Brexit’.

This paper both sets out the key provisions of the EU Withdrawal Act and some critical comment. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA) became law on 26 June 2018. Its purpose is not (in contrast to any Withdrawal Agreement agreed with Brussels) to decide the terms of Brexit, but to provide structures and mechanisms to prepare the UK legal system for Brexit. If/when Brexit takes place, the EUWA will, form the constitutional basis of a great deal of domestic law in future. Its impact on the UK constitution is therefore of the first importance.

I have kept this paper (relatively) short to present the main points as clearly and straightforwardly as possible. For that reason, it is not fully footnoted or bibliographed as with a journal article.