‘The development of private international law in the UK post Brexit from an intra-UK perspective‘

Dr Kirsty Hood QC

Defining the intra-UK perspective

Composition of UK (political units; legal units)

What is the role of private international law in an intra-UK setting?

How far have other devices been used to fulfil the role of conflict rules in the intra-UK setting?

Implications of EU withdrawal on intra-UK PIL

No wholesale harmonisation of substantive law, but was harmonisation of PIL rules:  what was the intra-UK impact of this?

Disputes about the boundaries of application of the EU instruments could involve disputes as to whether intra-UK situations were covered

Introduction of EU PIL measures could prompt reform of intra-UK rules (e.g., to achieve broad uniformity, or ensure that intra-UK rules were not less advantageous)

Subject to the usual caveat that the full implications of EU withdrawal generally, continue to be worked out …

Doubt as to whether particular EU instruments have intra-UK effect will be removed

Where intra-UK provisions are adaptations of EU PIL measures, will these be retained?

Impact of CJEU case law

Could an unexpected corollary of EU withdrawal be greater centralisation within the UK, with the potential to impact on the use of conflict rules in an intra-UK setting?

Areas where little obvious impact of EU withdrawal on intra-UK PIL

Areas of PIL into which the EU legislator had not ventured

Areas of PIL where the EU legislator had ventured, but had not been accompanied by the UK

Areas of PIL where EU membership had produced little intra-UK impact

Future look: the development of intra-UK PIL following upon EU withdrawal

Arguably EU withdrawal does not greatly increase the space for future innovation in intra-UK PIL

However, insofar as reform at EU level was a driver for intra-UK change, that will be removed for the future (and possibly replaced with the work of the Hague Conference)

Does not seem particularly likely that will be pressure for significant reform of intra-UK PIL in the medium term (in absence of international developments)

However, is possible that changes in the wider backdrop of the operation of the UK, could impact upon way PIL rules are used in the intra-UK setting