THE ROAD TO "BREXIT": POTENTIAL IMPACT ON UK AND EU/EEA LEGAL ORDERS

Final LL.M. Thesis - Ms. Elizabeth Patricia Corrigan

THE ROAD TO "BREXIT": POTENTIAL IMPACT ON UK AND EU/EEA LEGAL ORDERS

A contextual  critical analysis of several routes to withdrawal

Summary:

The UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU, gives rise to a multitude of social, economic, political, and legal concerns. As such, this lecture and supporting thesis evaluates the core issues regarding the reasoning behind the British electorate’s desire to withdraw from the Union, and the possible frameworks governing alternative future arrangements between the UK and EU.

In presenting said findings, the current situation is metaphorically analogised to an unmapped journey or unpaved road; whereby the Brexit decision constitutes the British public’s choice to divert its traffic off of the gridlocked European network, on to a new and unpaved road. The legislative infrastructure of said new road is yet to be constructed, and the direction in which it journeys is relatively undetermined. In order to plan for construction the UK may rely on previously charted Norwegian, Swiss, Turkish, and Canadian routes inter alia or as presently inferred, opt to develop a new path independent of navigational assistance. Thus, the UK is at a crossroads with a variety of onwards routes; the path selected inadvertently influences the position of the final destination regarding its interconnectedness to the EU. However, the regulation of the Irish land border may pose an essential blockade in the desired path to Brexit. Should the chosen route fail to adequately circumvent said obstacle, or if a direction is not selected in a timely manner, then the British vehicle per se is diverted off road and forced to proceed upon the WTO path to a post-Brexit Britain.