EU says Britain must respect the rule of its top court after Brexit

The UK government said there can be no role for the European Court of Justice once it leaves the EU.

The agreement laying out the terms of the U.K.’s departure from the EU should respect the rule of the European Court of Justice and include dispute settlement mechanisms should conflicts arise, according to a document setting out the EU’s Brexit negotiating position.

The European Commission on Thursday released six new negotiating documents outlining the EU’s position on a host of issues, from what happens to tradable goods placed on the single market before the U.K. leaves the bloc to what happens in the field of judicial cooperation in criminal matters up until the withdrawal date. They were drawn up by the task force of the EU’s Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier.

The proposals on the role of the ECJ are likely to receive a particularly hostile reception in London, as the U.K. government has said it does not want any role for the EU’s highest court post-Brexit.

“The Withdrawal Agreement should respect the Union’s autonomy and its legal order, including the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union as regards in particular the interpretation and application of Union law,” the document dealing with governance issues surrounding the withdrawal agreement says.

The EU in its negotiating position document also says that a new “joint committee” made up of officials from both the EU and the U.K. should be established with the aim of holding talks on issues where there are differences of opinion and dealing with “unforeseen situations not covered in the Withdrawal Agreement.”

In a move that will likely irk the British government, the document also says that case law from the court will apply to any transitional agreement made with the U.K.

“As regards any transitional arrangements providing for the continued application of [European] Union law, future case-law of the Court of Justice intervening after the withdrawal date should also be taken into account in interpreting those provisions of Union law,” the document states. It adds that “all rulings given by the Court of Justice pursuant to the provisions of the withdrawal agreement are binding on the [European] Union and the United Kingdom, and are enforceable in the United Kingdom.”

The EU27 also propose that the ECJ have jurisdiction over ongoing cooperation in police and judicial matter. The position paper on this topic, which covers measures such as the European Arrest Warrant, passenger name records and investigation orders, says the withdrawal agreement should allow for the “orderly completion of ongoing procedures.” While both sides have said they want continued cooperation on police and justice, it sets out the EU27 position if a future agreement is not made.

The U.K. and EU27 will be able to “keep and continue to use” information, including personal data, obtained from other member countries and EU institutions before the withdrawal date, the document says. Current protections around classified information should also continue to apply, it argues.

In its position paper on “Judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters” the Commission states that it believes “relevant provisions” of EU law should continue to apply to any contract, claim or “judicial cooperation procedure” entered into before or in process at the U.K.’s withdrawal date.

In a nutshell, the Commission wants to ensure legal certainty for any individual or company which has entered into a dispute or agreement under a provision of an EU law by grandfathering those laws in the withdrawal agreement.

Those laws include regulations governing insolvency proceedings; payment orders; access to legal aid in cross-border disputes; divorce agreements; and compensation to crime victims.

In a separate position paper, dealing with how goods placed on the single market are dealt with after the U.K. leaves the bloc, it states that those products can continue to be made available on the market after Brexit. Thereafter, the paper states, new mechanisms “for the mutual exchange of relevant information and for cooperation” should be established in order to monitor goods that might not comply with EU rules on health and safety.”

The document also states that the rules surrounding the availability of goods including food, plants, toys and textiles, after Brexit only concern “the manufacturing and characteristics of goods” and not their sale.

The U.K. Department for Exiting the EU did not respond to a request for comment.