Lords Committee calls on Liz Truss to respond to expert evidence on the role of the CJEU under the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland

The House of Lords Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland has today written to the Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss MP, with findings of their short inquiry into the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in relation to the Protocol.  

The Committee’s letter takes account of oral and written evidence received from a range of legal and political experts, including at their recent evidence session with Professor Catherine Barnard, Professor of European and Employment Law, University of Cambridge; Martin Howe QC, 8 New Square, and Chair of Lawyers for Britain; and Anton Spisak, Policy Lead for Trade and Productivity, Tony Blair Institute.

The Committee’s letter sets out a number of key conclusions and questions for the UK Government to respond to relating to:

• The UK Government’s understanding and interpretation of the role of the CJEU. The Committee asks whether concerns about the jurisdiction of the CJEU can be resolved without first addressing the fundamental issue of the direct application of significant areas of EU law to Northern Ireland under the Protocol
   
• Invoking Article 16 over the role of the CJEU. The Committee invites the Foreign Secretary to respond to expert evidence that concerns around the CJEU’s jurisdiction would not be appropriate grounds to invoke Article 16.
   
• Extending the Withdrawal Agreement dispute resolution procedure to the Protocol. The Committee asks whether extension of the dispute settlement provisions in Part 6 of the Withdrawal Agreement to the Protocol provides the only viable compromise between the UK and EU positions, and whether the Foreign Secretary’s recent public pronouncements indicate support for such a model.
   
• An enhanced role for the Northern Ireland Executive. The Committee questions whether and how the Northern Ireland Executive can play an explicit role in dialogue to resolve disputes in relation to the Protocol.
   
• Potential mitigations and solutions. The Committee asks whether the removal of Article 10 of the Protocol would alleviate the Government’s concerns over the jurisdiction of the CJEU over UK State aid decisions.

 The Committee has asked the Foreign Secretary to respond to its questions by 4 March 2022.

Notes to Editors

1. The full letter is available to read on the Committee’s website:
   https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/8871/documents/89300/default/