On 31 January 2022, the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee started an inquiry into the future of EU retained law. The Committee has published a call for evidence, which is open for submissions until 14 March 2022.
The Committee says it will look into the following and other issues:
– In what ways is retained EU law a distinct category of domestic law? To what extent does this affect the clarity and coherence of the statute book?
– Is retained EU law a sustainable concept and should it be kept at all?
– Do the principles and concepts of EU law continue to provide an acceptable and suitable basis for legislation in post-Brexit UK?
– How has the concept of retained EU law worked in practice since it came into effect and what uncertainties or anomalies have arisen, or may yet arise in the future?
– (a) In light of the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, what was the rationale for retaining the principle of the ‘supremacy of EU law’? (b) What is the most effective way of removing the ‘supremacy of EU law’ and other incidents of EU law from the statute book?
– Should retained EU law be interpreted in the same way as other domestic law? Should the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union have any relevance in the interpretation of retained EU law?
– Should a wider range of courts and tribunals have the ability to depart from retained EU case law and should it be binding at all?
– To what extent has retained EU law affected devolved competence?
– Are there issues specific to the devolved administrations and legislatures that should be taken into account as part of the Government’s reviews into retained EU law?
This inquiry follows the UK Government’s proposal to bring forward a Bill to allow EU retained law to be more easily changed or repealed (possibly by secondary legislation). The Government has published a press release and a policy paper.