Law and Rights
"Whether EU measures covered by the so-called '2014 block opt-out decision' continue to apply to the United Kingdom and become subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice from 1 December 2014 is a profoundly significant issue. Some?including the European Arrest Warrant?raise questions affecting public safety and security, as well as the protection of individual rights" - (First Joint Report from the European Scrutiny, Home Affairs and Justice Committee - 19th March 2014).
The UK government had the right under the Lisbon Treaty to opt-out of some 135 EU measures relating to justice and home affairs - (post of 19th October 2012). They also had the right to select which ones to opt back into and it seems that the government has chosen to opt back into around 35 of those measures including the European Arrest Warrant which came to the forefront of the news this week in the Ashya King case.
The Guardian - Ashya King case gives Eurosceptics a chance to air Lisbon grievances - has suggested that "the government is now keen to get the last crucial bit of the deal done with a minimum of fuss, but Tory MPs have successfully extracted a commitment that the whole matter will be debated again and subjected to a vote."
Despite the undoubted importance of this, it cannot be said that the politicians have made it easy for the public to see precisely what is being opted into and, for that matter, what has been opted out of.
The most straightforward publication I have found so far is this Commons Standard Library Note dated 15th July 2013 which considers, as things stood at that date, the bloc opt-out and selective opt-back-ins.
Additional Links:
BBC News 10th July 2014 - House of Commons debate
UK government - JHA opt-in and Schengen opt-out proposals (Updated 16th June 2014)
Parliament - EU justice and home affairs opt-out
Cm 8671 - July 2013 - Decision pursuant to Article 10 of Protocol 36 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU - a list of the opt-ins appears at pages 8 to 12.
Cambridge University Faculty of Law - Centre for European Legal Studies September 2012 - Opting out of EU Criminal Law: What is actually involved?
Professor Steve Peers - Professor of Law University of Essex - Statewatch - The UK Opt out from Justice and Home Affairs Law: the other member States finally lose patience
- Eu Zombie Law: The Cjeu Re-animates The Old 'third Pillar'
Steve Peers Back in 1993, when the Maastricht Treaty entered into force, the EU began adopting measures on criminal law and policing under a peculiar institutional system, known in practice as the ?third pillar? of EU law. This system was amended...
- The Uk Opts Back In To The European Arrest Warrant - And Other Eu Criminal Law
Steve Peers After much controversy, the UK today completed the process of opting out of EU criminal law measures adopted before the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, and opting back in to some of them. This blog post looks as the legal...
- What Just Happened? The House Of Commons ?vote? On The European Arrest Warrant
Steve Peers Last night, the UK House of Commons voted in favour of the UK opting back in to 35 EU policing and criminal law measures, including the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). Or rather, it didn?t: it voted in favour of the UK opting back to 11...
- Denmark And Eu Justice And Home Affairs Law: Really Opting Back In?
Steve Peers Yesterday, the Danish Prime Minister made an announcement that Denmark would hold another referendum on EU matters in 2015. This was widely reported as a vote on whether Denmark would opt back in to EU Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) law....
- Opt Outs And The Eu ~ Is The Uk Heading For The Exit
There is little doubt that membership of the European Union (EU) is thoroughly disliked by some members of the present British government and public dislike of membership seems to have increased as a result of all the financial problems in the "Eurozone"...
Law and Rights
EU ~ Lisbon Treaty ~ the bloc opt-out and selective opt-back-in
The UK government had the right under the Lisbon Treaty to opt-out of some 135 EU measures relating to justice and home affairs - (post of 19th October 2012). They also had the right to select which ones to opt back into and it seems that the government has chosen to opt back into around 35 of those measures including the European Arrest Warrant which came to the forefront of the news this week in the Ashya King case.
The Guardian - Ashya King case gives Eurosceptics a chance to air Lisbon grievances - has suggested that "the government is now keen to get the last crucial bit of the deal done with a minimum of fuss, but Tory MPs have successfully extracted a commitment that the whole matter will be debated again and subjected to a vote."
Despite the undoubted importance of this, it cannot be said that the politicians have made it easy for the public to see precisely what is being opted into and, for that matter, what has been opted out of.
The most straightforward publication I have found so far is this Commons Standard Library Note dated 15th July 2013 which considers, as things stood at that date, the bloc opt-out and selective opt-back-ins.
Additional Links:
BBC News 10th July 2014 - House of Commons debate
UK government - JHA opt-in and Schengen opt-out proposals (Updated 16th June 2014)
Parliament - EU justice and home affairs opt-out
Cm 8671 - July 2013 - Decision pursuant to Article 10 of Protocol 36 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU - a list of the opt-ins appears at pages 8 to 12.
Cambridge University Faculty of Law - Centre for European Legal Studies September 2012 - Opting out of EU Criminal Law: What is actually involved?
Professor Steve Peers - Professor of Law University of Essex - Statewatch - The UK Opt out from Justice and Home Affairs Law: the other member States finally lose patience
- Eu Zombie Law: The Cjeu Re-animates The Old 'third Pillar'
Steve Peers Back in 1993, when the Maastricht Treaty entered into force, the EU began adopting measures on criminal law and policing under a peculiar institutional system, known in practice as the ?third pillar? of EU law. This system was amended...
- The Uk Opts Back In To The European Arrest Warrant - And Other Eu Criminal Law
Steve Peers After much controversy, the UK today completed the process of opting out of EU criminal law measures adopted before the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, and opting back in to some of them. This blog post looks as the legal...
- What Just Happened? The House Of Commons ?vote? On The European Arrest Warrant
Steve Peers Last night, the UK House of Commons voted in favour of the UK opting back in to 35 EU policing and criminal law measures, including the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). Or rather, it didn?t: it voted in favour of the UK opting back to 11...
- Denmark And Eu Justice And Home Affairs Law: Really Opting Back In?
Steve Peers Yesterday, the Danish Prime Minister made an announcement that Denmark would hold another referendum on EU matters in 2015. This was widely reported as a vote on whether Denmark would opt back in to EU Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) law....
- Opt Outs And The Eu ~ Is The Uk Heading For The Exit
There is little doubt that membership of the European Union (EU) is thoroughly disliked by some members of the present British government and public dislike of membership seems to have increased as a result of all the financial problems in the "Eurozone"...