UK & other courts
Ministers have been ordered to rewrite mass data surveillance legislation within six months after a High Court ruling that they breached the public’s right to privacy due to aspects of the Investigatory Powers Act being inconsistent with EU law.
Evaluation of UK’s international obligations
46 human rights organisations from around the world have urged UK judges to allow 40,000 people from Nigerian fishing communities to appeal against a ruling that Royal Dutch Shell cannot be held responsible for pipeline spills that have devastated the environment in the Niger Delta.
UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU
David Davis is reportedly on the brink of quitting the Cabinet if Theresa May does not shelve her plans for a post-Brexit ‘customs partnership’ with the EU. This is linked to warnings that Theresa May will face a ‘very swift and violent reaction’ from Tory backbenchers if she continues to take advice, including on the ‘customs partnership’ from Olly Robbins, her top civil servant. Meanwhile Liam Fox has stated that a customs union with the EU is not acceptable as it would put Britain in a worse position than it is now.
The FT reports on the 30-page document sent to Downing Street by the European Research Group arguing against the idea of a customs partnership. Meanwhile Eurosceptic Tory Cabinet ministers have revolted against Theresa May’s hybrid solution, branding it unworkable.
The Government has tabled further amendments to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, supported others and published a further supplementary delegated powers memorandum.
The Financial Times has considered the options available to solve the Irish border dilemma, considering proposals including hybrid models and fallback measures for the UK as a whole. However Michel Barnier has stated that the Brexit negotiations are at risk of collapse over the Irish border. The EU chief negotiator has urged the British Government to put forward new proposals to avoid a hard border with Ireland as Brussels and Dublin increase pressure on Theresa May to break the deadlock in Brexit talks.
In another blow for Theresa May, peers voted by 335 to 244 in favour of an amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill which would hand Parliament the power to decide what happens next if MPs reject the deal she strikes with the EU. This has led Liam Fox to accuse peers of trying to ‘thwart; the will of the people on Brexit; meanwhile Theresa May has threatened to defy the Lords.
The Financial Times has considered the implications for Brexit of the appointment of Sajid Javid as the new Home Secretary.
Sixty Conservatives MPs have warned Theresa May her Government will collapse unless she shelves Number 10’s preferred plan for a post-Brexit customs system.
The Law Society has published a paper considering the options for the future UK-EU dispute settlement mechanism. Meanwhile peers have warned that Britain’s EU withdrawal agreement could be unenforceable unless an UK-EU dispute resolution is established.
Ministers have been ordered to preserve the frictionless border between the Republic and Northern Ireland as the House of Lords inflicted a tenth defeat on the Government’s flagship Brexit bill.
The House of Commons Library has published a discussion of where European defence is heading post-Brexit.
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