05 Feb Top legal professionals discuss The Government’s Brexit White Paper
Following pressure from sections of Parliament and the public, Theresa May’s government has published a 77-page white paper document to set out a strategy for leaving the EU. But what does it add to what we already know?
Philip Partington, Senior Solicitor at law firm Virtuoso Legal, said, “It is promising that the Government’s first ‘principle’ remains ‘certainty’ and ‘clarity’ for business, something the UK200Group has been seeking from Government since before the referendum. Whether or not this is how business feels is another issue.
“Slightly more troubling, for a number of reasons, is that the UK is now almost certainly about to leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. While this aim will delight many, it may well (depending upon the outcome of the future negotiations with the EU) have a significant effect upon the ability of UK businesses to easily stop, on a European wide basis, importers (from countries such as China) bringing into Europe (which will remain those businesses’ main market) counterfeit products and hampering their abilities to compete. Hopefully, the Government’s reference to seeking to ‘set up separate resolution mechanisms for things like trade disputes’ will cover such instances, but that remains to be seen.”
Philip Ball, Solicitor at law firm Myerson, said, “Following publication of the White Paper on the UK’s exit from and continuing partnership with the European Union, we welcome the Government’s commitment to free trade and to ensuring legal certainty and a smooth transition to the new partnership.
“We remain interested to see how potentially conflicting aims expressed in the White Paper, such as taking control of our own laws versus the aim of the freest trade possible with the EU, will be resolved but we hope that the Government will ensure the best possible deal for the UK economy within the short timescales required by the process.”
“Leaving the EU will mean that our laws will be made in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, and will be based on the specific interests and values of the UK,” The White Paper states.
The document, which sets out Theresa May’s plans was, was presented to Parliament last week.
