8. Membership of the European Union

Author(s):  
Lisa Webley ◽  
Harriet Samuels

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter, which provides an overview of the relationship between the European Union and the UK, and the impact of this relationship on Parliament’s legislative supremacy, begins by considering the nature of the EU and the sources of EU law. It then examines how EU membership affects the UK legal order, and its implications for parliamentary supremacy, and also discusses what the reform of the EU means for parliamentary supremacy. It considers, briefly, the impact of different Brexit options on the UK’s constitutional framework.

2021 ◽  
pp. 225-258
Author(s):  
Lisa Webley ◽  
Harriet Samuels

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter provides an overview of the relationship between the European Union (EU) and the UK and the impact of this relationship on Parliament’s legislative supremacy. It begins by considering the nature of the EU and the sources of EU law. It then examines how EU membership affected the UK legal order during the UK’s membership and its implications for parliamentary supremacy. It considers the impact of Brexit and the UK–EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement on the UK’s constitutional framework.


Author(s):  
Elspeth Berry ◽  
Matthew J. Homewood ◽  
Barbara Bogusz

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter examines the principle of sovereignty of EU law and how the judicial application of the sovereignty principle has advanced EU integration. The chapter specifically considers the impact of EU membership on the UK’s sovereignty and how the principle has been applied by the UK courts. The chapter also discusses EU competences and the attribution of powers to the EU; the application of the principle of subsidiarity; the sources of EU law; and EU legislative procedures.


2021 ◽  
pp. 114-144
Author(s):  
Lisa Webley ◽  
Harriet Samuels

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. The separation of powers is a theory or a doctrine that describes how a state organizes the distribution of power and function between its different branches. It is often used as an umbrella term to denote the extent to which the three ‘powers’ in, or branches of, the state are fused or divided—that is, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial powers. This chapter begins by sketching the history of the separation of powers in the UK. It then discusses the purpose of the separation of powers; the similarities and differences between different theories of the separation of powers; the impact of recent constitutional reform on the operation of the separation of powers in the UK; how courts have interpreted the separation of powers; and the relevance of the separation of powers today, including in the context of the balance of power between the executive and Parliament as regards the UK’s decision to exit the European Union.


2019 ◽  
pp. 87-121
Author(s):  
Elspeth Berry ◽  
Matthew J. Homewood ◽  
Barbara Bogusz

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter examines the principle of sovereignty of EU law and how the judicial application of the sovereignty principle has advanced EU integration. The chapter specifically considers the impact of EU membership on the UK’s sovereignty and how the principle has been applied by the UK courts. The chapter also discusses EU competences and the attribution of powers to the EU; the application of the principle of subsidiarity; the sources of EU law; and EU legislative procedures.


Author(s):  
Anthony Salamone

As Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson was a prominent campaigner for a ‘Remain’ vote in the European Union referendum of June 2016. Following the 2017 general election, meanwhile, Davidson repositioned herself as someone who could – aided by 13 Scottish Tory MPs in the House of Commons – influence the Brexit negotiations and nudge the UK Conservative Party towards a ‘soft’ rather than ‘hard’ deal with the EU. This chapter considers the impact of Brexit on the Scottish Conservatives during the leadership of Ruth Davidson in four dimensions: Brexit’s distinct Scottish political context, its electoral consequences, the conduct of Brexit within the UK, and the Brexit negotiations themselves. It concludes with reflections on the future prospects for the Scottish party in light of all four dimensions.


Author(s):  
Federico Fabbrini

This chapter analyses the European Union during Brexit, explaining how the EU institutions and Member States reacted to the UK’s decision to leave the EU. It outlines how they went about this in the course of the withdrawal negotiations. The EU institutions and Member States managed to adopt a very united stance vis-à-vis a withdrawing state, establishing effective institutional mechanisms and succeeding in imposing their strategic preferences in the negotiations with the UK. Nevertheless, the EU was also absorbed during Brexit by internal preparations to face both the scenario of a ‘hard Brexit’—the UK leaving the EU with no deal—and of a ‘no Brexit’—with the UK subsequently delaying exit and extending its EU membership. Finally, during Brexit the EU increasingly started working as a union of 27 Member States—the EU27—which in this format opened a debate on the future of Europe and developed new policy initiatives, especially in the field of defence and military cooperation.


Public Law ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 355-396
Author(s):  
Mark Elliott ◽  
Robert Thomas

This chapter focuses on the constitutional implications of the UK’s membership of the European Union and the constitutional implications of its exit from the EU (or ‘Brexit’). The chapter examines how EU law was accommodated within the UK legal system during the period of the UK’s membership of the EU, and in particular considers the consequences of the primacy of EU law for the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. The chapter also considers the extent to which lessons learned about the UK constitution as a result of EU membership will remain relevant now that the UK has left the EU.


Author(s):  
Elspeth Berry ◽  
Matthew J. Homewood ◽  
Barbara Bogusz

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter discusses the history of the European Union. It covers the historical rationale for the EU; the aims of the EU; the four stages of economic integration; economic and political difficulties; expansion of membership; institutional developments; legal developments; closer European integration; the Treaty of Rome (1957), the Single European Act (1986); the Treaty on European Union (1992); the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997); the Charter of Fundamental Rights; the Treaty of Nice (2001); the Treaty of Lisbon (2007); and the potential process for and impact of ‘Brexit’.


Author(s):  
Jeremy Horder

This chapter examines three major examples of financial crime: fraud, bribery, and money laundering. The importance of financial crime, and of vigorous prosecution policies in relation to it, should not be underestimated. Fraud accounts for no less than one third of all crimes captured by the Crime Survey for England and Wales. The European Union Parliament has estimated that corruption costs the EU between €179 and €990 billion each year. Finally, the Home Office estimates that the impact of money laundering on the UK economy is likely to exceed £90 billion. An understanding of these crimes, and in particular the way that they reflect corporate activity, is nowadays essential to the study of criminal law.


Author(s):  
Lisa Webley ◽  
Harriet Samuels

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. Complete Public Law combines clear explanatory text and practical learning features with extracts from a wide range of primary and secondary materials. The book has been structured with the needs of undergraduate courses in mind. Opening with consideration of basic constitutional principles (in which no previous knowledge is assumed), the chapters move on to cover all other essential areas, before closing with consideration of the principles and procedures of judicial review. This edition includes substantial updates to address the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and the constitutional implications these new arrangements have, including in the context of devolution.


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