The Constitution Committee of the House of Lords has today urged the Brit-Govt to act on its criticism of the “unprecedented” transfer of powers from parliament to government as proposed in the Brexit ( European Union Withdrawal) Bill.
The Lords say that the “political, legal and constitutional significance of the Brexit Bill is unparalleled’ and recommend that:
‘The Bill must ensure legal certainty so that individuals, organisations and the government know what exactly the law is post-exit, without having to resort to litigation.’
Committee Chairman Baroness Taylor of Bolton said: “The multiple uncertainties and ambiguities currently contained within the Brexit Bill raise fundamental concerns from a rule of law perspective.
“Powers granted to Ministers in the Brexit Bill must only be used to make the necessary technical changes to adapt EU law to function after Brexit – they must not be able to be used to implement policy decisions.”
Meanwhile, the Law Society of Scotland has warned the Brexit Bill will remove powers from the Scottish Parliament and erode human rights.
Graham Matthews, President of the Law Society, said that the draft legislation is “complex, difficult to interpret and lacking in clarity”.
He continued: “The effect of the bill would be to remove the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament in relation to any matter in retained EU law. This would be the case even if it related to areas of law not reserved to the UK under the Scotland Act, such as agriculture or fisheries.”
Renewables After Brexit:
Keynote energy law & environment conference:
Dundee University: 1 Dec 2017
On Friday 1 December 2017, experts from the renewables, legal, financial and political worlds will come together at the University of Dundee to explore the consequences of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union.
As well as an important chance to explore the ramifications of the UK’s departure from the EU, this conference offers ample networking and sponsorship opportunities.
Go to www.renewablesafterbrexit.co.uk for full details
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