The Lords Constitution Committee has called for the Government to act on the Committee’s criticism of the “unprecedented” transfer of powers from Parliament to Government, proposed in the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.
The Committee’s new interim report says that the Bill “raises a series of profound, wide-ranging and inter-locking constitutional concerns”, and recommends:
- That the Bill ensures legal certainty so that individuals, organisations and the government know what exactly the law is post-exit, without having to resort to litigation. The multiple uncertainties and ambiguities currently contained within the Bill raise fundamental concerns from a rule of law perspective.
- That the powers granted to Ministers under the Bill must only be used to make the necessary technical changes to adapt EU law to function after Brexit. They must not be able to be used to implement policy decisions.
- That Parliamentary procedures must ensure that delegated legislation which contains significant policy decisions is subject to meaningful scrutiny by Parliament.