The Gazette recently pointed out how few solicitors appear to be involved in the EU referendum campaigns. Well, I for one am happy to break cover to make a simple point: continued membership of the EU necessarily dilutes our legal system and thus our autonomy.

We are the square, common law, peg that is being forced into the round hole of a civil law jurisdiction. Our law is deformed as a result. Anyone who has mused over the relative weight of an attorney general’s opinion; or compared with frustration a broad and loosely drafted regulation against our own tightly worded statues, will know this.

We have a uniquely long and proud legal tradition resting fundamentally on the pragmatism that runs through our national character. We should cherish this and the enviable freedoms it has brought us.

Of course, the current discourse on the economic essentiality of Britain’s EU membership is the government’s proclaimed justification for giving up sovereignty.

But as I sit here, having worked for an American client most of the day, with my Korean-made phone beside me, my Indian-made shirt on my back and my Argentinian steak dinner waiting at home, I cannot help but wonder why we have sacrificed our independence in this way.

Nicholas Round, London W9

 

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