UK & other courts
The High Court is hearing a legal challenge to the Government’s implementation of the ‘Dubs amendment’, concerning the resettlement of unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children from Europe, arguing that the consultation of local authorities was seriously defective.
UN & the UK
The UN General Assembly has requested an advisory opinion from the ICJ on the legal consequences arising from the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965: for coverage, see here.
Evaluation of UK’s international obligations
According to analysis by The Times (paywall), in failing to undertake the positive duty in taking ‘all appropriate steps’ to safeguard life at Grenfell Tower, the UK Government is in breach of ECHR, art 2: the right to life.
UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU
The Government has stated that there will be no Queen’s Speech in 2018 in order to give MPs more time to deal with Brexit laws. It has also set out some information and documentation about the art 50 process and the negotiations.
Following the announcement of the beginning of the Brexit talks on 19 Jun 2017 and the first day’s agenda, The Guardian has reported on David Davis’ and Michel Barnier’s opening hopes and aims. The Financial Times has also considered the start of the negotiations, thinking about what to expect on day one and who the key negotiators are whilst Politico has considered the influence of nearly 100 figures on both sides of the negotiations.
European leaders are reportedly afraid that Theresa May’s government is too fragile to negotiate viable terms on which to leave the union, meaning the discussions that officially begin on Monday could end in a “brutal Brexit”. Meanwhile a Chatham House-Kantar survey has found that two-thirds of Europeans in the nine countries surveyed believe the EU should take a hard line with the UK. However Donald Tusk echoed the words of John Lennon to suggest the UK could stay in the EU.
For the blog InFacts, David Hannay has urged the Government to recoil from its ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’ slogan, setting out twelve reasons why it would, in fact, be worse.
As Theresa May’s Government begins to face Brexit there are warnings that the immense volume of EU related legislation could overwhelm it. This is compounded as EU laws are continuing to be introduced into the UK, with a further 1,260 rules reportedly applicable by the point of the UK’s departure in March 2019.
On the first day of negotiations the UK has agreed to the European demand for a phased approach to Brexit talks, considering the divorce settlement before any talk on free trade.
The Financial Times has considered how the balance of power will shift in Europe as Brexit begins to sink in. However Stuart McNeill of Pinsent Masons has stated that a recent Court of Appeal decision upholding the parties’ choice to use English law under a swap agreement will help provide certainty in Brexit.
Sir Jeremy Heywood, the cabinet secretary, is reportedly planning to relocate at least 750 policy experts from across Whitehall to five key Brexit departments without any extra cash to cover the cost of replacing them.
Labour MPs, MEPs and peers are forming a group to block attempts to weaken the UK’s links to the single market, and putting pressure on Corbyn to further differentiate his position from the Tories’. Sadiq Khan has also called for the UK to remain in the single market.
Through analysis of various negotiating points, different countries’ standpoints and a series of infographics, Vote Watch Europe has assessed what the EU27 Governments and the European Parliament actually want from Brexit. Meanwhile the Politics Studies Association and The UK in a Changing Europe have published a paper considering the EU referendum, one year on.
For the Centre for European Reform, Camino Mortera-Martinez has considered the importance for Britain of retaining full access to EU databases used to fight crime and terrorism, whilst considering the difficulties present as this would require a role for the CJEU and the retention of EU privacy laws.
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