Section 9: Implementing the withdrawal agreement
- Section 9 gives ministers of the Crown a power to make secondary legislation to implement the withdrawal agreement (as defined in section 20(1)) agreed between the UK and the EU under Article 50(2) of the TEU (or that Article as applied by the Euratom Treaty).
- Subsection (1) provides ministers with the power to make legislative changes which they consider appropriate for the purposes of implementing the withdrawal agreement. Regulations made using this power are restricted to implementing only those measures that should be in place for exit day and this power is not intended to be used for post-exit modifications. The use of the power is subject to the prior enactment of a statute by Parliament approving the final terms of withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
- Subsection (2) provides that secondary legislation made under the power in this section is capable of doing anything an Act of Parliament can do, subject to the restrictions specified in subsection (3). As set out in Paragraph 15 of Schedule 7, regulations made under powers in the Act can modify retained EU law and the definition of "modify" in section 20 provides that it includes amending, repealing or revoking legislation.
- Subsection (3) places a series of restrictions on the power stating what it cannot do. The power cannot be used to impose or increase taxation, make retrospective provision, create a relevant criminal offence, establish a public authority or amend, repeal or revoke the Human Rights Act 1998 (nor legislation made under it).
- The power expires on exit day meaning that no regulations can be made after this time. Paragraph 40 of Schedule 8 provides that it is the power and not the regulations made under it which expires.
- The scrutiny procedures for this power are set out in Part 2 of Schedule 7.
