Some late night thoughts on the FT article that the government is preparing to break its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement (thread)
1) Bear in mind: at the moment this might just be tactics. Not necessarily good ones (not sure “we will not comply with treaty obligations where we don’t like them” is a good argument to sign on to new ones), but tactics.
2) What’s the consequence of the UK’s action? That’s not entirely easy to judge. Generally under international law a country can pass its own laws and courts have to follow those - which might be a breach of international law. It’s different under EU law though.
3) EU law has primacy and is directly applicable. And indeed - the Withdrawal Agreement states this
As to e.g. state aid in the NI Ireland Protocol there is also Art. 12 Para. 4 of the NI Protocoll
To get out of these provisions the statute would have to be crystal clear. So crystal clear in violation of the NI Protocol. And then the ECJ would have jurisdiction under Art. 12 para. 4.
In short, in some respects and if the breaches won’t be clear enough there can be a way out of this mess through courts. Would you agree @StevePeers & @ProfKAArmstrong ?
And yes, I am writing a hot take with some trepidation because I am tired and was expecting to read to my children, have a glass of wine and go to bed. Not reading about THIS.
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