Repeal Bill – Stricter scrutiny needed to make White paper Green – Richard Benwell WWT Blog

The Repeal Bill will convert existing EU law into UK law, so that the same rules apply on the day after we leave the EU. Avid readers of the Link blog will know that Link members and Greener UK have been asking Government for three assurances about this risky process:

1. The whole body of EU environmental law should be transferred across and Ministerial powers to amend those laws should be strictly limited to technical changes.
2. The principles of EU environmental law — like polluter pays and the precautionary principle — should continue to apply.
3. There should be continuity in accountability, so that environmental laws are properly upheld.

The Government has made promises on each of these points:

1. All EU law will be transferred. Ministers will have powers to amend the laws through Delegated Legislation (i.e. without full Parliamentary scrutiny), but they will be time-limited and will be limited to fixes in function, so no changes in policy can be made.
2. Legal principles contained in the EU Treaties but not in the text of particular laws can still be used to guide judgements in court with regard to interpretation of EU-derived law.
3. EU case law will still apply in UK courts, so all the environmental judgments made in EU courts will still inform the reading of UK law. These White Paper promises are very welcome and should be heartening news for environmentalists. 

Further defences needed

However, the task of transferring across EU law is so immense that further assurances are needed.

UK environmental protection is dependent on EU law and it is doing a good job, but nature is still in decline. Any weakening of environmental protection could have serious consequences for our environment.

The Government clearly intends to reshape environmental law in the UK. The White Paper repeats the Government’s intention to create a “legislative framework that is outcome driven and delivers on our overall commitment to improve the environment within a generation”.

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