Following the UK’s formal departure from the EU on 31 January 2020, the UK entered into a period of transition, defined by the Withdrawal Agreement 2019, during which the EU and UK negotiated the terms of their Future Relationship. Agreement was reached just days ahead of the formal end to the transition period, 31 December 2020 at 23:00 GMT. The resulting Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is provisionally in force, pending completion of the ratification formalities on the EU side.
Now, in early 2021, our immediate priority is to examine the impact of the TCA for our members and their clients, and to assist them in their understanding and adapting to the new arrangements. This is an ongoing process. We will update our online advice on key issues as matters become clearer. We will also continue to organise events on key questions. Much of the advice below, including the FAQ papers published in the last few months, was drafted to cover all eventualities and thus remains current. Please refer to the papers below and continue to check for updates.
We are urgently clarifying practice rights and mobility provisions as they apply to members of the Bar engaged in cross-border work in and into the EU. By way of (non-binding) preliminary guidance, and subject to further clarifications:
- For members of the Bar who are called to the Bar of an EU Member State and who hold an EEA nationality, the end of transition should have no impact on their right to provide legal services in and into the EU using their host state title.
- For members who are called to an EU Member State Bar but who do not have an EEA nationality, their right to provide legal services in and into their Member State of call will be unchanged, as will their rights of audience before the Court of Justice of the EU using their host state title, subject to mobility issues. Their practice rights in and into other EU Member States will be as for (iii) below.
- For UK-only qualified members who do not hold an EEA nationality, the TCA requires EU Member States to permit barristers to provide legal advice on domestic (UK) law and Public International Law in and into the EU territory, subject to reservations in some Member States, and again subject to relevant mobility provisions, which variously may require visas, work permits or limit the ability to undertake paid work on the territory of a Member State.
- The rules for members involved in arbitrations on a fly in fly out basis in EU territory would appear to be more flexible. We are clarifying this as a matter of urgency.
- The right to practice EU law in England and Wales is largely unaffected, again subject to clarification.
- The TCA sets out the parties' minimum commitments. Some Member States will operate more permissive rules on both the regulatory and mobility sides than the TCA and/or their reservations suggest.
- Thus, for members who are currently or imminently engaged in cross-border work involving travel to an EU Member State, please check that state’s entry and regulatory requirements as soon as possible.
- The Bar Council hosted an online event on mobility provisions at the beginning of January, the papers for which are/ will shortly be available below.
Please note that the Withdrawal Agreement 2019 preserved practice rights, notably before the CJEU, for UK-qualified lawyers in, broadly speaking, two categories of cases:
- For the duration of cases that were pending before the Court at the end of the transition period, and
- For those appearing in cases related to the interpretation or breaches of the terms of the WA itself, for a period of up to 8 years following the end of transition.
These exceptions are discussed further in FAQ Paper 1 below.
Looking ahead
We will continue our parallel efforts to secure the Bar’s longstanding Brexit priorities: preserving access to justice through judicial cooperation and maximising opportunities for market access for legal services in support of same. We will again provide updates on this page as matters progress.
Bar Council Brexit resources
Preparing for transition FAQs:
Part 1: Practice rights - preparation for, and the impact of, the end of transition
Part 3: Civil Justice cooperation - jurisdiction, recognition, enforcement (the immediate impact of the end of transition and looking ahead)
Part 4: Study and career choices for young barristers and students
Immigration issues for barristers (January 2021) seminar guidance notes
Mobility and the EU form January 2021 - Ministry of Justice guidance for barristers
In addition to this Guidance documents we recommend that before you travel for business to EU Member States you visit the immigration websites of the EU/EFTA states to be sure of the applied regimes. You can find links to these as well as other helpful guidance on the UK government website.
CCBE Delegation Paper - UK lawyers in the EU - Practice rights Q&A
CCBE Delegation Paper - EU lawyers in the UK - Practice rights Q&A
The Bar's Brexit Papers offer Government, parliamentarians, the media and the public a concise and informative evaluation, in an accessible format, of the legal challenges posed by leaving the EU, their practical implications for the economy and society, and recommendations to Government.
- Legal Services Brexit Paper
- International Arbitration
- Financial Services Brexit Paper
- Civil Jurisdiction and judgements
- Criminal Justice
- Family Law
- Immigration
- Insolvency and Restructuring
- CJEU Jurisprudence
- Dispute Resolution
- Employment Law Brexit paper
- Consumer Law
- Road Traffic Accident Victims
- Acquired Rights
- Intellectual Property
- Competition Law
- Tax Law
- Public Procurement
- Impact of No Deal
- WTO
- Environmental Law Brexit paper
- Fisheries
- Agriculture
- Internal Market and Customs Union
- Human Rights
- Environmental Regulation
- Mutual Recognition Brexit paper
- August 2019 - UK lawyers practising in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein in a no-deal Brexit
- December 2018 - Bar Council Brexit debates briefing
- November 2018 - Preparing for a 'no deal' Brexit: Substantive advice to practitioners
- October 2018 - UK CCBE Delegation paper: UK lawyers in the EU - Practice rights in the context of Brexit Q&A
- July 2018 - Proposal for an Agreement between the EU and the UK on Future Judicial Cooperation
- May 2018 - UK CCBE Delegation paper: EU lawyers in the UK - Practice rights under the Draft Withdrawal Agreement and Q&A
- March 2018 - Bar Council briefing for Westminster Hall debate: Implications of Brexit for the justice system
- March 2018 - Bar Council briefing for Westminster Hall debate: Promotion of legal services post-Brexit
- February 2018 - Bar Council and Law Society joint Clause 6 amendment: treatment of post-exit judgments of the European Court
- February 2018 - Bar Council briefing on EU (Withdrawal) Bill for House of Lords Committee of the Whole House
- December 2017 - Response by the UK CCBE Delegation to the position paper by the EU27 Members of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), 'Issues for lawyers and legal services in the EU'
- September 2017 - Bar Council briefing on EU (Withdrawal) Bill for House of Commons Second Reading
- June 2016 - EU Referendum: Position of the Bar
- 6 February 2018 - Chair of the Bar Council Brexit Working Group Hugh Mercer QC gives evidence to the House of Lords EU Justice Sub-Committee on Brexit: enforcement and dispute resolution
- 7 February 2017 - Professor Derrick Wyatt QC and Hugo Leith give evidence to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee on the implications of leaving the EU for the UK's role in the world
- 1 February 2017 - Chair of the Bar Andrew Langdon QC gives evidence to the House of Lords EU Justice Sub-Committee on implications of Brexit for the justice system
- 10 January 2017 - Chair of the Brexit Working Group Hugh Mercer QC gives evidence to the House of Lords EU Justice Sub-Committee on Brexit: civil justice cooperation
- 19 January 2018 - Written evidence to the House of Lords EU Justice Sub-Committee inquiry: Brexit: Enforcement and dispute resolution
- 7 March 2017 - Supplementary written evidence to the House of Lords EU Justice Sub-Committee inquiry: Future trade between the UK and EU in services
- 10 March 2017 - Written evidence to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee on the implications of 'no deal' - Professor Derrick Wyatt QC and Hugo Leith
- 19 January 2017 - Written evidence to the House of Lords EU Justice Sub-Committee inquiry: Future trade between the UK and EU in services
- 11 November 2016 - Written evidence to the Justice Select Committee inquiry: Implications of Brexit for the justice system
The Bar Council's YouTube channel hosts the 'Bitesize Brexit' playlist, a series of short clips featuring members of the Brexit Working Group and EU Law Committee breaking down the complex law and politics of Brexit into bitesized pieces.