EU Law in the UK After Brexit

Abstract

The UK may have left the EU, but a considerable amount of EU law remains part of UK law. EU law in the UK is different from EU law proper; it serves distinct purposes and is often somewhat truncated. Over time divergences between EU law as it applies in the Member States and (at least some) of the EU law applicable in the UK will only increase until at some undefined point we might no longer refer to it as EU law at all. In this brief comment, I distinguish three categories of EU law in the UK according to their purpose and the possibility for divergence: the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Withdrawal Agreement and retained EU law. Each source attempts to replicate the content, effect, and interpretative method of EU law, but to varying extents.