{"id":1675,"date":"2018-07-13T18:22:49","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T18:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/?p=1675"},"modified":"2020-05-12T14:05:49","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T14:05:49","slug":"brexit-white-paper-and-family-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2018\/07\/13\/brexit-white-paper-and-family-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Brexit White Paper and Family Law &#8211; What You Need To Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Brexit-White-Paper-and-Family-Law-wp-1.jpg\"><img data-attachment-id=\"1715\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2018\/07\/13\/brexit-white-paper-and-family-law\/brexit-white-paper-and-family-law-wp-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Brexit-White-Paper-and-Family-Law-wp-1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1022,766\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Brexit White Paper and Family Law\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Brexit White Paper and Family Law&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Brexit-White-Paper-and-Family-Law-wp-1-300x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Brexit-White-Paper-and-Family-Law-wp-1.jpg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1715\" src=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Brexit-White-Paper-and-Family-Law-wp-1.jpg\" alt=\"Brexit White Paper and Family Law\" width=\"1022\" height=\"766\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Brexit-White-Paper-and-Family-Law-wp-1.jpg 1022w, https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Brexit-White-Paper-and-Family-Law-wp-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Brexit-White-Paper-and-Family-Law-wp-1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1022px) 100vw, 1022px\" \/><\/a>What is the Significance of the Brexit White Paper for Family Law?<\/h4>\n<blockquote><p>See February 2019 update,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2019\/02\/15\/what-does-brexit-no-deal-mean-for-family-law\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>What Does Brexit No Deal Mean For Family Law<\/em>\u00a0<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Few will have missed that the\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/the-future-relationship-between-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union\" target=\"_blank\">Brexit white paper<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>published 12 July 2018. But what does\u00a0it mean for family law?<\/p>\n<p>The European Union (Withdrawal) Act became law on 26 June. This means that although the EU will no longer legislate for the UK,\u00a0we retain all the helpful EU regulations which apply to family law.\u00a0But\u00a0there&#8217;s a problem.<\/p>\n<p>On 29 March 2019 we leave the Court of Justice of the European Union (the ECJ)\u00a0and we will no longer be bound by ECJ decisions. So even though we have all the EU rules for family law, these will gradually move out of sync as the ECJ\u00a0will make law we do not recognise.<\/p>\n<p>This could affect key areas such as the recognition and enforcement of family law judgments. See my earlier post\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2018\/03\/02\/brexit-family-law-divorce-update-march-2018\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Brexit, Family Law &amp; Divorce &#8211; March 2018 Update<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>What\u00a0Does\u00a0Family Law Need From Brexit?<\/h4>\n<p>We need\u00a0our rules to stay\u00a0in line with the remaining EU countries in vital areas of\u00a0family law. These rules relate to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The country in which divorces, matrimonial financial cases, and children cases must start. Otherwise cases\u00a0can be started\u00a0in two different countries at the same time. At the moment, for example, cases about children start in the country where they live.<\/li>\n<li>The recognition and enforcement of UK orders in remaining EU countries and vice versa.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hcch.net\/en\/instruments\/conventions\/full-text\/?cid=24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hague Convention<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in relation to\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/what-we-do\/moving-abroad-with-children-and-child-abduction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">child abduction<\/a><\/em>\u00a0cases. EU rules impose the following rules:\n<ul>\n<li>A stricter timetable<\/li>\n<li>The children\u2019s home country must make the final decision<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Court\u00a0will\u00a0hear evidence from the child.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>The Brexit White Paper And Family Law<\/h4>\n<p>The\u00a0white paper proposes\u00a0we sign up to the Lugano Convention. But because\u00a0the Convention is\u00a0old and out of date, the white paper also proposes we reach a deal with the EU to bring\u00a0it up to date.<\/p>\n<h4>What Is The Lugano Convention?<\/h4>\n<p>The Lugano Convention originated in 1988 as an agreement between the EU and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Its current incarnation dates to 2007 and its signatories are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The EU<\/li>\n<li>Iceland<\/li>\n<li>Switzerland<\/li>\n<li>Norway<\/li>\n<li>Denmark<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All the members must agree to new states joining.<\/p>\n<h4>What Does The Lugano Convention Do?<\/h4>\n<p>It ensures members apply the same rules and pay regard to how each other\u2019s Courts interpret these rules. But even the white paper acknowledges some of the Lugano Convention\u2019s provisions have been \u201covertaken\u201d and are \u201climited in scope\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>This is because under the Convention there is no guarantee case law on regulation will be aligned between the signatories. All it requires is for the signatories to &#8220;pay due account&#8221; to each other&#8217;s case law (including the EU&#8217;s ECJ). So we could still fall out of sync.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s possible of course for the EU to revise the\u00a0Lugano Convention\u00a0to make sure it does its best for international families but of course\u00a0all the signatories will need to agree.<\/p>\n<h4>Brexit White Paper And Family Law &#8211; What Is Needed<\/h4>\n<p>Specific proposals for making the Lugano Convention fit for purpose are required. But with the Government dealing with trouble in the ranks, negotiations with Brussels, and balancing all of this with trying to make new trade deals, it\u2019s anybody\u2019s guess if and when this might happen.<\/p>\n<h4>What Is The Brexit Timetable?<\/h4>\n<p>The EU target date for agreeing Brexit terms is 30 September. It&#8217;s probably quite important the Government sticks to this timetable as it will need to start post-Brexit trade talks in the autumn prior to making new trade deals before we leave the EU on 29 March 2019. Unless of course there is an agreement between the UK and the EU to extend the period for negotiations.<\/p>\n<h4>Does The White Paper Recognise The Difficulties International Families Face?<\/h4>\n<p>Yes, to a certain extent.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cCross-border families benefit from clear rules to resolve disputes in sensitive matters quickly and efficiently.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(Paragraph 1.7.7 sub paragraph 145).<\/p>\n<h4>But Please Remember \u2026<\/h4>\n<p>If\u00a0you are keen\u00a0to\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/what-we-do\/divorce-and-ex-pat-divorce\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">divorce<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in a particular country for financial reasons you\u00a0should seek\u00a0legal advice\u00a0without delay<\/p>\n<h4>Brexit, Family Law\u00a0And Divorce<\/h4>\n<p>Contact\u00a0 Joanne Houston on 01962 217640 for\u00a0<strong>free<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>advice<\/strong>\u00a0on Brexit, Family Law\u00a0and\u00a0Divorce. In this 20 minute session we will review your situation and how you can achieve your objectives.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">JUST FAMILY LAW<\/a>\u00a0are specialist divorce and family law solicitors offering\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2017\/06\/02\/pay-as-you-go-divorce-family-law-costs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">personalised legal solutions<\/a>.\u00a0We offer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2017\/11\/29\/collaborative-law-uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">collaborative law<\/a>\u00a0which is especially relevant in providing\u00a0solutions tailored to your family\u2019s needs. This includes same sex couples and their families. Visit our website\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">just-family-law.com<\/a>\u00a0The topics covered in this blog post are complex and are provided for general guidance only. Therefore if any of the circumstances mentioned in this blog have application to you, seek expert legal advice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>image\u00a0\u00a0Servizio fotografico by Paolo Monti on <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paolo_Monti_-_Servizio_fotografico_(Italia,_1958)_-_BEIC_6361484.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">Wikimedia<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the Significance of the Brexit White Paper for Family Law? See February 2019 update,\u00a0What Does Brexit No Deal Mean For Family Law\u00a0 Few will have missed that the\u00a0Brexit white paper\u00a0published 12 July 2018. But what does\u00a0it mean for family law? The European Union (Withdrawal) Act became law on 26 June. This means that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[267,14,355,354,43,52,353,81],"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1675"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1675"}],"version-history":[{"count":47,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2802,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1675\/revisions\/2802"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}