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22 November 2019 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7865 / Categories: Features
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Boris Johnson’s EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill

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Michael Zander records what the Lords Constitution Committee had to say about the Bill
  • The report, though mainly explanatory, highlights issues requiring further consideration including Northern Ireland & workers’ rights.

‘The Bill is of the highest constitutional significance, given its intended effect. It builds on, but also amends and departs in significant ways from, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. It is a complex piece of legislation.’ (Constitution Committee Report, HL Paper 21, 5 November 2019, para.4)

That is the Bill for which Boris Johnson, having got a Commons majority on the 2nd Reading, refused to increase the time allowed for the further stages and which was then pulled to make way for the General Election on 12 December. If the Conservatives form the next government, it will presumably be re-introduced as the basis of the prime minister’s new promise ‘to get Brexit done—this time by 31 January’.

The committee’s report, though mainly explanatory, highlights issues requiring further consideration.

The status of EU law

Under the 2018

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The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, and Solicitor General, Andy Slaughter KC MP, marked the 25th anniversary of Pro Bono Week by joining lawyers, charities, students and parliamentarians at events celebrating voluntary legal work
Witness evidence can be compromised by AI before a solicitor sees the draft, leaving safeguards focused on authorship incomplete
Possession claims are entering a new digital era, with procedural traps awaiting practitioners who assume familiar rules still govern every step
A polished legal defence may owe more to artificial intelligence than legal merit—and creditors risk paying the price in delay and expense
An indemnity costs battle with a £20m gap could reopen an important question: what weight should an approved budget carry?
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