Report comment

This government paper is another example of the "parallel universe" approach to Brexit. The EU will not accept a situation where the same rights in a FTA are adjudicated differently depending on where the individual or company is based.

In the real world, there are essentially two options: the Canada approach where there is an arbitration tribunal for disputes on the interpretation of the FTA (state vs state), and the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism (investor vs state).

If the UK wants to go further than this and retain some of the rights in the EU treaties for the benefit of its companies and citizens, it will have to accept the supervisory jurisdiction of a supranational court, i.e. the EFTA Court or the CJEU, with obligatory preliminary references. Anything less will mean the EU selling out on the single market.

And there is one final point: as a general rule international trade agreements are only justiciable before domestic courts in very limited circumstances.