Britain will be subject to the rulings of European courts after Brexit, the government has conceded, in an apparent climbdown from its promise of judicial independence. In the latest in a series of policy papers that seek to blur the edges of hard Brexit, the government argues that for the smooth settlement of cross-border disputes it is necessary that foreign judgments sometimes apply to individuals and businesses in the UK. Their cross-border disputes policy paper seeks to maintain a system of civil judicial cooperation covering consumer, business and family disputes that straddle more than one country. “Leaving the European Union will mean that our laws will be made in Westminster, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. That court will include European judges, will have the power to make decisions that affect the UK, and most likely will shadow the ECJ in the vast majority of cases.

Source: The Guardian August 21, 2017 21:00 UTC