In the first newsletter of the New Year the first words are for thanks and felicitation. Thanks to all who have been working hard on the renewal of the Hungarian Lawyers Association under such extraordinary circumstances when we cannot proceed with our community life according to our ordinary routines. Still, we should hope in this New Year that sooner or later our organisation will be able to continue its work on the old track but with a renewed approach. In the hope thereof, on behalf of the elected officials and staff of the Association I wish everyone a happy and successful New Year.
On 6 January 2021, on the day of Epiphany we launched our renewed website with a new structure and refreshed contents, hoping that the website of the Association will be a living website, providing useful information for the members of the Hungarian lawyer society. The most important event of the last days of the last year was that the United Kingdom and the European Union have managed to reach an agreement on the terms of their cooperation after 1 January 2021.
The international treaties, still yet to be ratified but nevertheless provisionally applicable, include a comprehensive economic cooperation of 1246 pages, agreements on nuclear energy and IT security as well as several joint statements.
These international agreements regulate the relationship between the United Kingdom as an independent and sovereign country and the European Union. Accordingly, from 1 January 2021 the United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU Single Market and the Four Fundamental Freedoms, EU law is no longer applicable to the UK, the UK no longer participates in EU politics and it is no longer party to the international treaties concluded by the EU. Thereby two distinct spaces are created both in terms of markets and regulatory environment. In addition to several practical consequences, one of the most important consequence of this is, from legal point of view, that – with the exception of the territory in Northern Ireland – the Court of Justice of the European Union will no longer have jurisdiction over the United Kingdom.
The trade and cooperation agreement regulating the bilateral relations, however, envisages a much broader cooperation than ordinary free trade agreements. This international treaty regulates the four main pillars of the cooperation: free trade relations, economic, social, environmental cooperation and cooperation in the field of fisheries, coordination regarding the security of citizens, as well as a governance framework encompassing among others the settlement of disputes and the implementation of the agreement. In the field of foreign policy, the agreement does not institute any cooperation.
A key precondition to the realization of mutual benefits following from the ambitious free trade agreement ensuring continuous interrupted trade is to ensure a level playing field. If such level playing field is established, trade of goods will not be subject to customs duties or quantity restrictions. In the field of services, however, it is a more significant change that the principle of mutual recognition of country of origin and professions no longer prevails. Regarding legal services the agreement provides more favourable rules than ordinary free trade agreements, since as a main rule UK barristers, solicitors, and lawyers, indicating their own professional title, may freely provide legal advisory services within the EU regarding UK law and international public law.
The trade and cooperation agreement establishes a new framework also for law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal law matters, a fundamental condition of which is the recognition and enforcement of the protection of fundamental rights, also recognised in the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. Cooperation in criminal matters covers also fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism, exchange of data, extradition procedures, as well as cooperation with Europol and Eurojust.
Considering that – in accordance with the international law principle of “par in parem non habet imperium” – the Court of Justice of the European Union loses its jurisdiction over the UK, for the sake of legal certainty and predictability the international agreement provides in a separate pillar for the interpretation and enforcement of its provisions. For the facilitation thereof the agreement establishes the Joint Partnership Council, an intergovernmental board the main task of which is to monitor the implementation of the agreement. In addition thereto, for the settlement of debates that cannot be resolved through intergovernmental negotiations, it provides for mandatory arbitration, which is also accompanied by a powerful international law enforcement mechanism.
The international agreements regulating the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union are currently applicable only provisionally – until the end of February 2021 -, and their conclusion is subject to ratification by the European Parliament and the European states, which is expected to take place in the beginning of the New Year. The international agreement will certainly be the subject of several international and European legal analyses in the New Year.
With kind regards,
Prof. László Trócsányi
