Belated Happy New Year – Brexit and why being a lawyer matters!

It’s 24 January 2017 and I’m a bit late with the Happy New Year wishes! But even if late, they are no less well intended!

Brexit update
As it happens, today marks exactly 7 months since the UK was reeling from its decision to leave the EU.  And today, the UK’s Supreme Court has ruled (majority 8-3) that no UK government minister alone has the power to exercise our Article 50 TEU rights to terminate UK membership of the EU. An Act of Parliament is required. Good.

It’s the most important UK legal case in my working life. Constitutional lawyers will tell you that this ruling matters massively – for the simple reason, that it establishes parliamentary sovereignty, whenever a source of UK law (here: the flow of EU rule-making since 1973) is about to be cut off. Put simply, the government cannot deny its citizens their UK domestic legal rights (even if they come from the EU) in such a way, without a proper Act of Parliament passed by our elected representatives.

This case has also established another important principle, about the nature of the UK’s devolved powers passed to elected administrations in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland. In a nutshell, these three bodies don’t get a meaningful say in the matter of the UK’s membership in or withdrawal from the EU. But they clearly do have rights (especially clear in the case of Northern Ireland) regarding their membership in the Union that is the UK.
This outcome is not surprising and, at least in my view, it is right. Parliament must have overall power over the law of the land and it could never be acceptable to sideline it by ministerial order. It would have been wrong to let it happen on this occasion, so that future governments could argue that some form of precedent was set.

Personally, I cannot see this particular parliament standing in the way of Brexit for very long. The political decision to leave the EU is not in danger of reversal – at least not because of this. Last June, our MPs were overwhelmingly on the (losing) Remain side of the Brexit referendum argument. But they show no collective signs of putting up resistance to the Brexit process - with the exception of the minority Scottish Nationalists, Liberal Democrats & sole Green Party votes.

So why does being a lawyer matter?
In a phrase: due process. By this, we mean that the rule of law performs a hugely important civilising function, one that helps society to glue together in the longer term. Rule of law only works, if we as individuals feel that we always have the right to challenge or defend ourselves against governmental over-reach, only if we have the right to be heard properly and peacefully by an independent Court, and only if that Court is free from undue pressure from government and public alike. Access to justice is not a luxury. It’s a base line of a civilised society.

And even if you disagree passionately with the outcome of this judgment, I implore you to agree and accept the value of this process. Another day, another issue - it might be you seeking the Court’s protection.

Without the lawyers in private practise and sitting independently as judges, our individual rights would be sorely devalued. In such populist times, never has the work of lawyers been more necessary.

WLN update
To all my friends and colleagues in WLN: the time and resources which you each invest in our working relationships as a network are all part of delivering the best possible, international yet personal, service to our clients. We might not get the chance to make a constitutional mark every day (and some of us might not want it!), but we do help to bring clarity and confidence in a turbulent world. Even in the world of commerce, which creates jobs and sustains lives.

We look forward to a great year for WLN in 2017. We will for example welcome new members to our group in Europe - announcement to follow soon. We have active discussions with firms in Brazil, Canada & the USA. The Board will continue to develop the WLN Academy, launched last September in our hugely successful Barcelona conference by WLN Director, David Elvira Benito.

And we have some very exciting conferences lined up in 2017.  Next month, we meet for a Business Mission for the first time in Delhi, hosted by our friends at India Law Offices. In Delhi, we have an event with the local Chamber of Commerce, where we expect to meet a large number of local businesses. We will also be getting to know fellow lawyers from outside WLN, from a diverse range of countries including Argentina, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan and the UAE.  This promises well for the future growth of our network and the services we will be able to offer our clients.

In April, our WLN Next group (for Associates) will be meeting in Budapest, Hungary – and you can get booking information for that event here.

On behalf of all the WLN Directors, I trust & hope that your start to 2017 is as exciting and constructive as I feel it is today! May all your ambitions be fulfilled! Now get back to work!

Stuart Miller
(Managing Director, WLN)
e: miller@warwicklegal.com
24 January 2017