The European Court of Justice should not be allowed direct jurisdiction over the final deal Britain strikes with the EU, the Law Society of England and Wales says.
The Law Society has released a paper entitled Brexit: Options for a future UK-EU Dispute Settlement Mechanism. This urges the UK government to create a new, bespoke, UK-based mechanism for resolving disputes.
"At the moment disputes are handled by the European Court of Justice and, as an EU member, we’ve had judges sitting in that court and UK lawyers representing clients,” says Law Society president Joe Egan.
“The jurisdiction will remain during any transition. However, once we leave we think the CJEU should be denied direct jurisdiction over the agreement because the UK will no longer have full participation in the court.”
Mr Egan says the new mechanism needs to apply right across the final Brexit deal. He says it should continue to grant access to individuals to enforce their rights and be there for business as well.
EU law currently has direct effect and supremacy over United Kingdom national law. That will cease when Britain leaves, with UK courts no longer bound by European Court of Justice judgments.