The Lugano Convention: a good first step

• Importance of the government’s decision to accede to the Lugano Convention.
• The introduction of the Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Bill.

If there is a litigation god he might come in the form of Michael Gove, at least in the short term, through the prism of the government’s decision to accede to the Lugano Convention. Many may be surprised to hear that this was not in any way a given. Despite earlier commitments it was entirely possible that Lugano might have, through perception, been washed up in the government’s red line against any continuing influence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). There appeared to be, in certain government circles, the misperception that the CJEU has a direct influence on domestic law through the mechanisms of the Lugano Convention. Further there seemed a suspicion that Lugano is an instrument through which the EU drives