INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS CONCLUDED BY THE UK FOLLOWING ITS WITHDRAWAL FROM THE EU

Abstract

Following the conclusion of the process of withdrawal from the European Union, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland must now adopt new legislation to cover the areas that were previously regulated by EU law, which has now become inapplicable with regards to the British state. To this purpose, the UK must not only adopt internal acts, but also must conclude international agreements with a variety of actors, including the EU itself, its Member States (on matters that do not fall within the EU’s competences), other international organisations, and third countries. This article shall analyse the EU’s competence, as an international organisation with legal personality, to conclude agreements, the UK’s international standing before its accession to the European Communities and the transfer of trade-related competences towards the supranational level, and the agreements concluded by the United Kingdom in order to regulate matters that, prior to Brexit, were governed either by the EU’s secondary law, or by international agreements negotiated and concluded by the Union itself. In addition, the article shall look at potential international agreements that might be concluded by the UK in the future.

Keywords

• exclusive competences
• shared competences
• international treaties
• trade agreements
• bilateral agreements