(Br)Exit from the European Union – Control, Autonomy and the Evolution of EU Law

University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 13/2021

Forthcoming in Paul Craig and Gráinne de Búrca (eds.), The Evolution of EU Law, third edition (Oxford UP, 2021)

59 Pages Posted: 17 Mar 2021

Date Written: March 17, 2021

Abstract

(Br)Exit from the European Union offers a novel interpretation of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU). Rather than emphasising the rupture and the exceptionalism of ‘Brexit’, this paper argues that much can be understood about the evolution of EU law through the experience of the UK’s membership and eventual withdrawal from the EU. Part A evaluates whether the legal history of its membership – its encounter with EU rulemaking and adjudication – can explain the UK’s preference for a ‘differentiated membership’ of the EU and eventual demands for control over its own laws. Part B focuses on the Article 50 TEU withdrawal process. It underscores that compliance with ‘constitutional requirements’ throughout the Article 50 process evidences co-evolution of the EU and domestic constitutional and legal orders even up to the moment of withdrawal. Part C projects forward to the evolving future relationship. It suggests that as the UK asserts its sovereignty outside of EU legal and institutional disciplines, the EU wants protection for its own autonomy.

Keywords: Brexit, Article 50, differentiated membership, treaty amendment, constitutional requirements, Withdrawal Agreement, Political Declaration, Free Trade Agreement

Suggested Citation

Armstrong, Kenneth, (Br)Exit from the European Union – Control, Autonomy and the Evolution of EU Law (March 17, 2021). University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 13/2021, Forthcoming in Paul Craig and Gráinne de Búrca (eds.), The Evolution of EU Law, third edition (Oxford UP, 2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3806712 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3806712

Kenneth Armstrong (Contact Author)

Centre for European Legal Studies ( email )

10 West Road
Cambridge, CB3 9DZ
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.cels.law.cam.ac.uk/

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