header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
26 May 2017 / Martin Burns
Issue: 7747 / Categories: Features , Brexit , EU , Property
printer mail-detail

Shaky foundations?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

EU law underpins the provision of dispute resolution to resolve property & construction disputes, says Martin Burns. So what will happen post-Brexit?

An inevitable consequence of the decision by the UK to leave the EU is uncertainty. This is particularly so for those of us who are involved in property and construction.

Brexit compels the industry to examine the adequacy of regulatory systems, and the extent to which some EU law will stay and some is swept away. It obliges us to explore the modifications which will be required, or not, across all areas, including: investment, procurement, financing, and sourcing labour and materials.

One area where it is unclear as to how Brexit will impact is in the way the UK property and construction sector manages conflict and resolves disputes. EU law underpins the provision, operation and enforcement of different forms of dispute resolution. When that law ceases to apply in the UK, the nature of the legal regime that replaces it is clearer in some areas than in others.

Ultimately, repercussions for dispute resolution

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
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 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
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
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
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’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
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’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll