Peers voted for EU citizens in the UK to be given an automatic right to stay and proof in the form of physical rather than digital-only documentation. Peers also voted to remove ministerial powers to order UK courts to depart from European Court of Justice judgments, and for cases to be referred to the Supreme Court to decide whether to depart from EU case law.
The fourth defeat concerned the issue of child refugees. Peers voted for Lord Dubs’ amendment to protect the right of child refugees to join their families in the UK after Brexit. The fifth amendment passed takes note of the Sewel Convention, whereby Parliament should not legislate on devolved issues without the consent of the devolved institutions.
With a majority of 80 MPs, however, the government will almost certainly reverse the amendments when the bill returns to the House of Commons.
Professor Michael Zander, Emeritus Professor, LSE, said the second and third amendments were ‘both on the provision in cl 26 of the Bill giving ministers the power by delegated legislation to permit lower courts to depart from decisions of the EU Court of Justice.
‘Before making such regulations the minister would have to consult the senior judiciary. In the Committee stage debate the many critics of this provision included three former Lord Chief Justices, a former Lord Chancellor, a former Law Lord and the chairman of the Lords Constitution Committee. Lord Beith moved an amendment to remove the provision, as he said, to “avoid a great deal of legal confusion and safeguard the independence of the judiciary”’.
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