Invention is the mother of “necessity”: the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill

In this post, George Peretz Q.C. of Monckton Chambers discusses the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill. The Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol was at the heart of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with the EU in 2019 and was, as required by that agreement, incorporated into UK law. It has important tax implications, especially in the areas of VAT,
customs duties and state aid. The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill would remove most of the Protocol from UK law, despite the UK’s treaty obligation. The government claims that the principle of ‘necessity’ gives a legal basis for that action in international law, but its argument is unconvincing. The Bill is likely to run into considerable opposition in Parliament, especially in the House of Lords. And if passed it would threaten a trade war with the EU with major implications.

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Sweet failure: British Sugar fails to persuade the High Court that the sugar advance tariff quota breaches Article 10 of the Protocol or the subsidy control provisions of the TCA

George Peretz Q.C. of Monckton Chambers discusses R(British Sugar) v Secretary of State for International Trade[2022] EWHC 393 (Admin) regarding Article 10 of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol and the new post-Brexit UK subsidy control regime.

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Battle postponed: the Court of Appeal declines to hear the Welsh government’s challenge to the UK Internal Market Act

In this post, George Peretz Q.C. of Monckton Chambers discusses the Court of Appeal’s decision in Counsel General for Wales v Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy [2022] EWCA Civ 118 on the Welsh Government’s challenge to the UK Internal Market Act.

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