The REUL Act (commenced at end Dec 2023) ended the special status of REUL (Retained EU Law) in the UK from that date. It ended the principle of EU law supremacy and general principles of EU laws as ways to interpret EU law.
The REUL Act also repealed section 4 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA). This means that rights previously preserved by that section (“section 4 rights”) are no longer recognised in domestic law, unless they are restated using powers in the REUL Act.
Section 4 of EUWA provided for legal continuity of certain rights (resulting from the UK’s membership of the EU) at the point of the UK’s exit from the EU.
Certain equality rights were already restated at end Dec 2023 (a previous blog post refers).
The REUL Act’s restatement powers are available until 2026.
Decisions made to date –
(1) section 4 rights related to EIA (environmental impact assessment), relating to rights to public participation in decision-making, and the public’s right to reports: not restated – existing statute domestic law is sufficient
(2) section 4 equality rights: some restated (see earlier blog post)
(3) definition of biocidal products includes products that control harmful organisms in an indirect way (relating to the earlier 1998 European Directive): not restated – HSE will continue as it has done, and the 1998 Directive was anyway replaced by a 2012 European Directive which follows similar principles
NOTE: REUL is from 1st Jan 2024 termed Assimilated Law – Cardinal Environment Limited EHS Legislation Registers & Checklists will be updated; and the Retained EU Law tracking list will be retitled.
Assimilated Law may be updated using REUL Act powers until June 2026.
Re: Northern Ireland, certain EU law is retained by virtue of the Northern Ireland/Ireland Protocol, replaced by The Windsor Framework (The Windsor Framework amended the Protocol and came into effect on 1st Oct 2023) – again Registers & Checklists, and the Retained EU Law tracking list will be updated.
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