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Retained EU Law (Revocation And Reform) Act 2023

Contents

Final provisions

Section 19: Consequential Provision

  1. Section 19 provides that a Minister of the Crown or any of the devolved authorities can make provision considered appropriate as a consequence of the provisions of the Act. By virtue of subsection (2) the power can be used to make consequential amendments to any enactments including to primary legislation and the provisions of the Act.

Section 20: Regulations: general

  1. This section makes general provision about regulations that may be made under delegated powers conferred by the Act.
  2. Subsection (1) provides that powers under this Act may be used to make different provision for different purposes or areas, and may also make supplementary, incidental, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision (including provision modifying any enactment, including the provisions of this Act).
  3. Subsections (2) and (3) introduce Schedules 2 and 3, which make provision on the exercise of powers by devolved authorities and on procedures for making regulations, respectively.
  4. Subsection (4) clarifies that a prohibition in the Act on making regulations after a particular time does not affect the continuation in force of regulations made before that time. For example, regulations made under the power to restate retained EU law under section 11 may only be made before the end of 2023. However, any regulations made under that power will continue to operate after the end of 2023.
  5. Subsection (5) disapplies section 28 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 in relation to any power to make regulations under this Act. Section 28 provided duties upon Ministers of the Crown to make provision for the review of regulatory provisions under regulations.

Section 21: Interpretation

  1. This section sets out the meaning of terms used throughout the Act.
  2. Subsection (2) sets out that in this Act references to an instrument made under an Act or under any retained direct EU legislation include any Order in Council, order, rules, regulations, scheme, warrant or byelaw made under an Act or any retained direct EU law.
  3. Subsection (3) sets out that in this Act any references to anything which is retained EU law by virtue of section 4 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019 includes references to any modifications, made on or after IP completion day, of the rights, powers, liabilities, obligations, restrictions, remedies or procedures concerned.

Section 22: Commencement, transitional and savings

  1. Subsection (1) sets out the sections which come into force on Royal Assent. They are sections 1 and 2 on the sunset of retained EU law; sections 5(1), (2) and (4) to (7) on assimilated law; section 7 on compatibility; sections 9 to 17 and Schedule 3 on the modification of retained EU law and the powers relating to retained EU law or assimilated law; and the final provisions in sections 19 to 23 and Schedules 4 and 5 (which include provision relating to the making of regulations under the Act).
  2. Subsection (2) sets out that section 18 on the Business Impact Target comes into force two months after Royal Assent of the Act. In respect of all other provisions, subsection (3) allows a Minister of the Crown to make regulations setting the days such provisions come into force.
  3. Subsection (4) allows a Minister of the Crown to make transitional, transitory or saving provisions as the Minister considers appropriate in connection with-
    1. any provision in this Act coming into force,
    2. the revocation of anything by section 1 (i.e. the revocation of the legislation listed in Schedule 1), or
    3. anything ceasing to be recognised or available in domestic law (and, accordingly, ceasing to be enforced, allowed, or followed) as a result of section 2.
  4. Subsection (5) and (6) are saving provisions that provide that section 2 to 4 (assimilation of retained EU law) and the changes made by Schedule 2 ("Assimilated law": consequential amendments) do not apply in relation to anything occurring before the end of 2023. The principle of supremacy, retained general principles and the references to "retained EU law" etc. will continue to apply to things occurring before that date, and to any legal proceedings relating to them after that date.

Section 23: Extent and short title

  1. This section confirms the extent of this legislation.
  2. Subsection (1) provides that, subject to subsection (2), the Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Act therefore extends to the UK and not beyond.
  3. Subsection (2) provides that any amendments, repeals or revocations by the Act only have the same extent as the legislation which they are acting on. If, for example, the Act amends an enactment that extends only to England and Wales, the amendment will also only extend to England and Wales.
  4. Subsection (3) states that the short title of the legislation is the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.

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