Legal experts warn UK could be sanctioned if it breaches Brexit Treaty
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The latest developments in the Brexit dispute which threatened to put the whole process into confusion could even end up at the European Court of Justice, if British Prime Minister Boris Johnson forges ahead with his intention to breach the withdrawal agreement.
Such dispute could see the EU open a specific legal process, and at the EU would still have the powers to punish the United Kingdom, according to legal experts. This could include the imposition of tariffs, sanctions on British exports and fines.
The latest Brexit dispute could end up in the European court of justice if it breaches the withdrawal agreement signed by Boris Johnson in January, legal experts have warned.
According to Dr Catharerine Barnard, a European Law professor at Cambridge University, ” because the agreement is an international treaty, the EU could bring proceedings against the UK, under the dispute resolution mechanism of the agreement.”
“If the arbitration raises issues of EU law, which this absolutely seems to do, then it’s up to the court of justice,” she added.
The major bone of contention from Johnson’s proposed plans appeares to be the move to go around a specific proviso in the Northern Ireland protocl which requires tariffs to be payable on goods entering the Republic of Ireland from another part of the UK, via Northern Ireland.
Dr Barnard said that while this seemed a political rather than a legal move, she admitted that the Government was taking a “very high stakes gamble”.
