Overview of the Bill/Act

1 The purpose of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is to provide the Government with all the required provisions that allow for the amendment of retained EU law (REUL) and remove the special features it has in the UK legal system. These reforms were announced in the Queen’s speech in May 2022.

2 The Bill will give effect to policies that were set out in the Benefits of Brexit Report published in January 2022 and the Government's announcement of the review into the substance and status of REUL in September 2021.

3 To achieve this, the Bill will:

a. Repeal or assimilate REUL, within a defined scope, by the end of 2023

b. Repeal the principle of supremacy of EU law from UK law by the end of 2023;

c. Facilitate domestic courts departing from retained case law;

d. Provide a mechanism for UK Government and devolved administration law officers to intervene in cases regarding retained case law, or refer them to an appeal court, where relevant;

e. Repeal directly effective EU law rights and obligations in UK law by the end of 2023;

f. Abolish general principles of EU law in UK law by the end of 2023;

g. Establish a new priority rule requiring retained direct E U legislation (RDEUL) to be interpreted and applied consistently with domestic legislation;

h. Downgrade the status of RDEUL for the purpose of amending it more easily;

i. Create a suite of powers that allow REUL to be revoked or replaced, restated or updated and removed or amended to reduce burdens.

4 The Bill also repeals the Business Impact Target (BIT) contained in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. This is an outcome of the Benefits of Brexit Paper published by the Government in January 2022, in response to the ‘Reforming Better Regulation Framework’ consultation.

5 The Bill contains 23 clauses and 3 Schedules, addressing a range of regulatory and constitutional issues and changes. The Bill will amend the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA) and make minor and consequential amendments to some other Acts.