Have jurisdiction Brexit transition
scenario other than direct ECJ jurisdiction.
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.
“What we will be able to do is to make our own laws.
“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.”
The DExEU document states that Britain’s aim is to “maximise certainty” for individuals and businesses and to ensure that they can “effectively enforce their rights in a timely way”, while respecting the autonomy of UK and EU legal systems.
At a press conference in Brussels, European Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein declined to comment on the UK proposals, but said that the EU’s position was “very clear, very transparent and unchanged”.
The remaining 27 EU states have approved negotiating guidelines which envisage the ECJ retaining authority over the interpretation and implementation of the Brexit agreement and oversight of the treatment of European citizens in the UK.
Labour peer Lord Adonis, a leading supporter of the Open Britain campaign against a hard Brexit, 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.
“It would make far more sense for the government to negotiate continued membership of the customs union and single market. Otherwise, we get the worst of all worlds – a worse deal on trade and jobs than now, yet no extra control over anything for real.”
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said: “The government has produced a position paper without a clear position. No-one reading this paper will have a clue what they actually want.
“It’s a desperate attempt to hold together a divided Conservative Party and prevent a rebellion amongst Eurosceptic backbenchers.
“Despite Theresa May’s tubthumping rhetoric, it’s clear that protecting British trade, security and families will mean accepting a role for the European Court.”
The Oxford Economics think-tank downgraded its estimate of the likelihood of successful separation and transition agreements from 70% to 60%, arguing that DExEU’s position papers risk makeing the negotiation process even harder.
“The UK has made little attempt to progress separation issues, while its ideas for transition could require yet more negotiation and risk eroding the benefits of transitional arrangements for business,” said the group.