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George Peretz QC was quoted extensively in this article in which Lawyers reject Liz Truss’s claim that UK is able to dump parts of the treaty with EU without its agreement..
Comments include:
“I can’t see how any lawyer could possibly advise the government that they’ve got a slam-dunk case. What I’ve seen so far doesn’t give them sustainable legal cover.”
Peretz reckoned the government would struggle to justify invoking article 16 based on economic problems, because these were known about in advance. “It was pretty obvious to both parties that putting a border down the Irish Sea was going to divert trade, so that would be a bizarre argument,”
“In international law, social unrest is not a basis for denouncing a treaty which you’ve signed,”
“If the advice is all about the conditions for exercising article 16, this is something the government might arguably be able to run. As to whether there’s an argument for simply ditching parts of the treaty on the basis that the text isn’t binding on the UK any more, that’s much more difficult. And I think there’s general agreement about that.”
To read full article and these comments in context, please click here.