A brief analysis on brexit's consequences on the CJEU's jurisdiction

• Author: Iuliana-M?d?lina Larion
• Position: PhD Candidate, Faculty of Law, 'Nicolae Titulescu' University of Bucharest; Judge at the Bucharest County Court (e-mail: madalinalarion@gmail.com).
• Pages: 85-94

LESIJ NO. XXIV, VOL. 2/2017

A BRIEF ANALYSIS ON BREXIT’S CONSEQUENCES ON THE

CJEU’S JURISDICTION

Iuliana-Mădălina LARION

Abstract

As the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s effective withdrawal from the

European Union advances, there is a growing interest on what solutions shall be found for the complex

legal problems raised by Brexit. The research intends to highlight the main issues relevant for the Court

of Justice of the European Union’s jurisdiction, in an effort to better understand the possible

consequences on the European Court’s competence to receive, hear and solve cases i nvolving the

United Kingdom, as well as on the means to enforce its rulings. The study aims to anticipate and suggest

possible approaches to the practical challenges that shall have to be addressed.

Keywords: Brexit; withdrawal from the European Union; Court of Justice of the European

Union; jurisdiction; actions.

1. Brexit and its challenges

As this study is being written, the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland’s Government is preparing

to notify the European Council of the state’s

intention to exercise its right to withdraw

from the E uropean Union (EU), using

Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union

1

.

The United Kingdom (UK) is taking the

legal steps necessary to give full effect to the

result of the referendum held on 23 June

2016.

Thus, the only withdrawal so far of a

Member State from this international

integration organisation has become

 PhD Candidate, Faculty of Law, "Nicolae Titulescu" University of Bucharest; Judge at the Bucharest County Court

(e-mail: madalinalarion@gmail.com).

1

The Treaty on European Union (TEU) was signed at Maastricht on 7 February 1992 and entered into force on 1

November 1993. Article 50 was introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, signed on 13 December 2007, in force since 1

December 2009. For the consolidated version of TEU see: http://europa.eu/eu-law/decision-

making/treaties/index_en.htm, last accessed on 20 March 2017.

2

See Fuerea, Brexit – trecut…, 2016, 631-633 and The White Paper presented by the European Commission on

1 March 2017, available at https://ec.europa.eu/commission/white-paper-future-europe-reflections-and-scenarios-

eu27_en, last accessed on 20 March 2017.

imminent. This raises a lot of questions

regarding the lega l, economic and social

aspects of the process, as well as questions

about EU’s future, once such a precedent is

established

2

.

The negotiations that will follow t he

formal use of Article 50 of the Treaty on

European Union shall have their result

enshrined in a withdrawal agreement. One of

the le gal is sues that shall have to be taken

into account is the matter of the Court of

Justice of the European Union’s jurisdiction

in pending cases involving the UK.

The study shall present the possible

consequences on the jurisdiction of the three

courts which compose the Court of Justice of

the European Union (CJEU): the Court of