ECJ could have UK role during Brexit transition

May faces climbdown claims but insists UK will take back control

The European Court of Justice could continue to exercise jurisdiction over UK law during the transition to Brexit, under the terms of a new position paper published by the Government.

And any new dispute resolution mechanism created to adjudicate on post-Brexit rows between the UK and EU could be required to take account of, or even be bound by, the rulings of the Luxembourg-based court.

The paper released by David Davis’s Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) ruled out any direct ECJ jurisdiction over UK law following Brexit, which ministers branded unnecessary, inappropriate and unprecedented.

It said that legal disputes involving individuals and businesses should in future be decided within the UK judicial system, with the Supreme Court as the final arbiter.

And it said a new dispute resolution mechanism – which could involve a joint committee or arbitration panel – will have to be created to deal with disagreements over the interpretation and application of the Brexit deal.

The mechanism could be triggered if either side believes the other is failing to implement the terms of the agreement or has introduced legislation which breaches it.

But the DExEU document did not rule out the ECJ maintaining its authority during the transitional period which is expected to last a number of years after the March 2019 deadline for Brexit, saying only that Britain will “work with the EU” on the design of interim judicial arrangements.

Speaking shortly before the paper’s publication, Prime Minister Theresa May insisted that the UK would “take back control” of its laws after Brexit.

“What is absolutely clear, when we leave the European Union we will be leaving the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice,” she said during a visit to Guildford in Surrey.

“Parliament will make our laws. It is British judges who will interpret those laws and it will be the British Supreme Court that will be the arbiter of those laws.”

Labour peer Lord Adonis, said: “This is a climbdown camouflaged in jingoistic rhetoric. Even if we leave the single market, European judges will still have considerable power over decisions made in the UK.”