Retained EU Law Bill set to become law after clearing House of Lords

The Bill, designed to remove the special features of EU law that remain in the UK legal system, is now expected to be granted Royal Assent in the coming days, becoming the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act. The legislation will amend the 2018 European Union (Withdrawal) Act, which incorporated former EU law into the UK legal system after Brexit as ‘retained EU law’. Its major reforms will enter into force at the end of 2023.

The House of Lords, which had been scrutinising the Bill, withdrew its objections after the government pledged to carry out consultations before making significant reforms to retained EU law. It also promised to arrange for parliamentary debates and votes to take place on reforms if recommended by a parliamentary committee.

Some Lords had pressed to see a ‘non-regression’ clause included in the Bill, preventing the government from weakening retained EU environmental protections in the UK. But the Lords accepted assurances from government ministers emphasising their commitment to environmental protection and to working within the framework of the 2021 Environment Act.

The move followed ministers’ decision to amend the Bill earlier this year, removing the planned ‘sunset’ clause – which would have abolished all EU-derived laws retained in UK statue on 31 December 2023. A targeted list of around 600 specific pieces of secondary legislation and EU legislation is expected to be revoked at the end of the year instead.

David Thorneloe of Pinsent Masons, who specialises in public law, legislation and government, said: “The new Act represents a landmark constitutional reform that rewrites the rule-book as to the way in which many thousands of provisions of our laws are interpreted and applied after Brexit.”

“It also paves the way for the government to make significant reforms by secondary legislation. Now that the parliamentary stages are over, businesses will need to prepare for the next stage of litigation and legislation that the Act promises for retained EU law in the next few years,” Thorneloe added.