The uncertainty and complexities of disentangling the UK from the EU is impacting on London’s role as an international litigation hub, according to one of the country’s foremost litigators.
Interviewed by Professor Dominic Regan for an exclusive NLJ / LexisNexis Brexit webinar, NLJ consultant editor David Greene, senior partner at Edwin Coe LLP, said that clients want certainty about what will happen and when. “We are already starting to see a soft exit, businesses looking two years ahead and considering what Brexit could mean for them. Mid-tier financial institutions will be dependent on passporting into the EU or equivalence and may be looking at more attractive, less convoluted options. Germany, France, Ireland and Holland are already putting the flags out to entice clients unnerved by the uncertainty in the UK. There is no doubt that the UK is already less attractive to potential clients and that London is likely to take a knock in the longer term. Until we get some clarity and certainty on these issues we will have ongoing difficulties.”
Next steps may be clearer after the Art 50 appeal, due to be heard in the Supreme Court in December. Greene, who is one of the lawyers acting for the claimants, says the case will turn on from where rights derive: “If the Supreme Court overturns the first instance decision and holds that rights are deemed to derive from treaty, then they fall within the Royal Prerogative and Theresa May can progress with Plan A, triggering Art 50 in March next year. If they don’t overturn the decision and hold that rights derive from statute then they are bound to rule in our favour, and it will be left to Parliament to determine the terms of the withdrawal process.”
Greene says that Art 50 is about disengagement, “followed by two years of negotiation on the Great Repeal Bill, or rather the Great Saving Bill. The government needs to prioritise its workload to ensure that reciprocal arrangements that need agreement are on track post Brexit. Civil servants tasked with project Brexit are asking for detail, for granularity - they need detailed arguments setting out why something should be kept, what is needed and why it is needed.”
On the upside, Greene predicts a rosy post Brexit future for arbitration, particularly in London: “Arbitration can replace the Brussels Convention for enforcement under the New York Convention in terms of the enforcement of judgments and we will continue to see more funding for arbitration across many jurisdictions.”
The webinar, which includes a wide ranging discussion based on the practical legal consequences of Brexit and next steps for the Brussels Convention, Rome I and II, enforcement and security of costs, renegotiation of contracts, can be downloaded here (25% off for NLJ subscribers: the full price for a single webinar is £70 + VAT. NLJ readers should contact the webinar team directly (webinars@lexisnexis.co.uk) and quote discount code NLJ25 to get the offer).
The London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA) has proposed a package of practical step to help safeguard the UK’s leading position as a centre for international litigation post-Brexit. Full details are available here.
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