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06 November 2019
Issue: 7863 / Categories: Legal News , Brexit , Constitutional law
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Peers report on the Withdrawal Bill

Peers have highlighted a range of constitutional issues in the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill, which would introduce a post-Brexit implementation period up to 31 December 2020.

The government paused the bill after it received its second reading in the House of Commons last month because MPs demanded more time for scrutiny. In its interim report, published this week, the House of Lords Constitution Committee, which examines public bills for constitutional implications, looks at the bill on a clause-by-clause basis, covering citizens’ rights and workers’ rights, several broad secondary law-making powers, parliamentary sovereignty, and the relationship with EU law up to the end of the implementation period and beyond.

The report highlights numerous instances of Henry VIII powers relating to, for example, citizens’ rights and immigration, but does not pass judgment on policy.

Although Parliament has now dissolved, the committee will report on any similar bill introduced in the next parliament.

Issue: 7863 / Categories: Legal News , Brexit , Constitutional law
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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