MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th September, 2020) Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to challenge parts of the Brexit deal violates international law in a "limited way," Brandon Lewis, a UK Conservative Party lawmaker and the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the Financial Times newspaper reported, citing officials, that head of the UK Government Legal Department Jonathan Jones resigned over a dispute with Johnson, who is seeking to override key parts of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, namely provisions relating to Northern Ireland. Jones has become the sixth senior UK government official to leave his position this year over growing tensions with the prime minister.
"I would say to my honorable friend that, yes, this does break international law in a very specific and limited way. We are taking the power to disapply the EU law concept of direct effect required by Article 4 in certain very tightly defined circumstances," Lewis said when asked by a Tory lawmaker to confirm the proposed bill would not violate international law, as broadcast on the UK parliament's website.
The lawmaker recalled that there were precedents when the UK, as well as other countries, reviewed their international obligations as circumstances changed. In particular, he noted that some lawmakers would not be in the House of Commons if the country did not pass in 2013 the Finance Act, which contains an example of treaty override, namely "provisions that expressly disapply international tax treaties to the extent that these conflicted with the general anti-abuse rule."
"And I would say to my honorable friend we are determined to ensure we are delivering on the agreement we have in the protocol and our leading priority is to do that through the negotiations and through the joint committee work. The clauses which will be in the bill tomorrow are specifically there for should that fail to ensure that we are able to deliver on our commitments to the people of Northern Ireland," Lewis added.
This week, the UK House of Commons is set to vote on the government's new bill aimed at nullifying key parts of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU that was negotiated by former Prime Minister Theresa May, which, in turn, hampers reaching a post-Brexit deal, set to be finalized by the end of this year. If adopted, the provisions including agreements on state aid and Northern Ireland customs would be overridden.
