Rewriting EU Laws.

What Happened to EU Law After Brexit?

When the UK prepared to leave the European Union, one of the largest legal challenges was deciding what would happen to thousands of EU-derived laws affecting businesses, workers, consumers and public authorities.

Removing every EU rule on exit day would have created substantial gaps and uncertainty. Parliament therefore passed legislation preserving the existing legal framework while allowing EU-derived laws to be reviewed, amended or repealed over time.

The proposed "Great Repeal Bill" described during the early Brexit negotiations became the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 received Royal Assent on 26 June 2018.

Its principal purposes included:

• repealing the European Communities Act 1972;


• ending the process through which EU law automatically took effect in the UK;


• preserving existing EU-derived domestic legislation;


• converting directly applicable EU law into domestic law;


• providing continuity after Brexit; and


• creating temporary powers to correct legal problems caused by withdrawal.

The preserved body of legislation became known as retained EU law.

Why Was Existing EU Law Preserved?

EU-derived rules affected almost every major area of economic and public life, including:

• employment rights;


• consumer protection;


• environmental regulation;


• food and product safety;


• data protection;


• financial services;


• transport;


• agriculture and fisheries;


• competition law;


• health and safety; and


• international trade.

It would not have been possible or sensible to rewrite every affected law before the UK left the EU.

Preserving the existing rules meant that businesses and individuals did not face an immediate legal vacuum. Parliament and the devolved legislatures could then consider reforms individually.

Did Every EU Law Become a UK Law?

Not in a simple or literal sense.

The Withdrawal Act preserved different categories of law, including:

• UK Acts and regulations originally introduced to implement EU obligations;


• EU regulations that had applied directly before Brexit;


• specified EU decisions and rights; and


• relevant principles and case law used to interpret preserved legislation.

Some EU provisions were not retained because they were no longer relevant, depended on continuing EU membership or were excluded by the legislation.

Correcting Technical Problems

Many preserved laws could not operate properly without amendment.

Examples included legislation that:

• referred to the European Commission or another EU institution;


• required information to be submitted to an EU body;


• depended on reciprocal arrangements with member states;


• gave functions to an EU regulator;


• referred to the UK as an EU member; or


• used procedures that ceased to be available after Brexit.

The Withdrawal Act gave ministers powers to correct these deficiencies through secondary legislation.

Most technical changes preserved the substance of the existing rule while replacing references, institutions or procedures that no longer worked.

Henry VIII Powers

The powers allowing ministers to amend legislation through statutory instruments were controversial.

They were sometimes described as "Henry VIII powers" because secondary legislation could amend provisions contained in Acts of Parliament.

Supporters argued that it would have been impossible for Parliament to pass a separate Act for every technical correction required by Brexit.

Critics were concerned that:

• ministers could make significant changes with limited debate;


• statutory instruments could not normally be amended;


• important policy choices might be presented as technical corrections;


• parliamentary time for scrutiny would be limited; and


• rights or protections could be altered without primary legislation.

Parliamentary Scrutiny

Statutory instruments are generally considered under either the negative or affirmative procedure.

Under the negative procedure, an instrument normally becomes law unless Parliament objects within the required period.

Under the affirmative procedure, both Houses must expressly approve the instrument.

Special scrutiny arrangements were also created to consider whether proposed Brexit instruments required a higher level of examination.

However, statutory instruments usually receive less scrutiny than primary legislation and cannot normally be amended line by line.

What Happened to the European Court of Justice?

UK courts can no longer refer ordinary domestic cases to the Court of Justice of the European Union in the way they could while the UK was a member state.

Judgments delivered by the European Court after the end of the transition period are not generally binding on courts in Great Britain.

However, European judgments can still be relevant where:

• the dispute concerns events before the end of the transition period;


• an applicable agreement requires EU law to be considered;


• the case concerns Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework;


• a domestic law is based on an EU provision; or


• the UK court considers a later European judgment persuasive.

Pre-Brexit EU Case Law

Relevant judgments of the European Court made before the end of the transition period continued to influence the interpretation of retained EU law.

Lower courts were generally required to follow applicable retained EU case law unless a senior court had departed from it or legislation had changed the underlying rule.

Specified senior courts were given powers to depart from retained EU decisions.

Factors that may be considered include:

• the importance of legal certainty;


• changes in circumstances;


• whether the earlier decision restricts the development of domestic law; and


• the principle that decisions of foreign courts are not ordinarily binding.

The Retained EU Law Act 2023

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 made further substantial changes.

Its effects included:

• revoking specified pieces of retained EU law;


• removing the remaining domestic principle of EU supremacy;


• ending the special status of retained EU general principles;


• renaming most remaining retained EU law as assimilated law;


• changing how courts may depart from retained EU case law; and


• creating temporary powers to restate, revoke or replace certain laws.

Was All Retained EU Law Automatically Repealed?

No.

An earlier version of the proposals would have caused most retained EU law to expire automatically at the end of 2023 unless it was specifically preserved.

That broad sunset was abandoned.

Instead, the 2023 Act listed particular instruments and provisions that were revoked.

Most remaining EU-derived legislation continued in force rather than disappearing automatically.

What Is Assimilated Law?

From 1 January 2024, most remaining retained EU law became known as assimilated law.

The new name reflects the fact that the legislation now operates as part of ordinary domestic law rather than as a special category retaining its previous connection with the EU legal system.

Assimilated law may still contain rules originally derived from EU directives, regulations and decisions, but its authority in Great Britain now comes from UK legislation.

What Happened to EU Supremacy?

While the UK was a member of the EU, EU law could take priority over conflicting domestic legislation in many circumstances.

The remaining domestic effect of EU supremacy was removed at the end of 2023.

Assimilated law now generally operates within the ordinary hierarchy of domestic legislation.

A later Act of Parliament can override assimilated law in the same way that later domestic legislation can override earlier legislation.

Can Ministers Still Revoke Assimilated Law?

The 2023 Act created temporary powers allowing ministers and devolved authorities to restate, amend, revoke or replace specified forms of retained EU and assimilated law.

The principal temporary powers expired on 23 June 2026.

Those accelerated powers can therefore no longer be used to make new regulations.

Assimilated law can still be changed through:

• a new Act of Parliament;


• legislation passed by a devolved legislature within its powers;


• ordinary delegated powers contained in another Act;


• sector-specific regulatory powers; or


• other valid domestic legislation.

The expiry of the temporary powers does not mean that assimilated law is permanently protected from change. It means that another lawful legislative power must now be used.

Were Laws Returned to Four UK Capitals?

Brexit returned powers from EU institutions to the UK, but those powers did not all pass automatically or equally to Westminster, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

The destination of an individual power depends on:

• whether the subject is reserved to the UK Parliament;


• whether it falls within devolved competence;


• UK internal market legislation;


• international obligations;


• common frameworks; and


• the special position of Northern Ireland.

Devolved administrations gained greater freedom in some areas, but disputes arose over whether powers returning from Brussels should be exercised nationally or separately within each part of the UK.

UK Common Frameworks

Common frameworks were developed to coordinate policy in areas previously governed by EU rules but now involving devolved responsibilities.

These areas include matters such as:

• agriculture;


• food standards;


• fisheries;


• chemicals;


• environmental protection;


• public procurement; and


• professional qualifications.

The frameworks are intended to allow policy differences while managing risks to trade and cooperation within the UK.

Northern Ireland and the Windsor Framework

The legal position in Northern Ireland differs from that in Great Britain.

Under the Windsor Framework, certain EU rules continue to apply in Northern Ireland, particularly where necessary to manage trade in goods and avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

The applicable requirements depend on matters including:

• the type of goods;


• where the goods originate;


• whether they may enter the EU single market;


• the route used to move them;


• customs and certification requirements;


• food and agricultural controls; and


• product labelling.

Businesses operating between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the EU should not assume that the same rules apply to every movement of goods.

The Stormont Brake

The Windsor Framework introduced a procedure commonly known as the Stormont Brake.

In specified circumstances, members of the Northern Ireland Assembly may object to the application of certain amended or replacement EU rules in Northern Ireland.

The mechanism is subject to detailed conditions and is not a general power to reject any EU measure.

Did Brexit Remove Employment Rights?

Brexit did not automatically abolish employment protections derived from EU law.

Rights concerning matters such as:

• paid annual leave;


• working time;


• discrimination;


• maternity protection;


• agency workers;


• part-time and fixed-term workers;


• collective consultation; and


• business transfers;

were largely contained in domestic Acts and regulations and continued after Brexit.

Some rules have since been amended through domestic legislation. Employers and workers should therefore check the current law rather than rely on an old EU rule or assume that every protection remains unchanged.

Consumer and Environmental Protection

EU-derived laws concerning consumer rights, food standards, product safety, pollution, waste and environmental protection also continued after Brexit.

These protections can now be amended through domestic legislation.

Whether a change strengthens, weakens or modernises protection depends on the terms and practical effect of the particular reform.

It is inaccurate to suggest that all EU regulations were either abolished or left permanently untouched.

Data Protection

The UK General Data Protection Regulation was created by preserving and adapting the EU GDPR as domestic law.

It operates alongside the Data Protection Act 2018.

Businesses operating in the EU may also remain subject to the European GDPR where its territorial rules apply.

UK and EU data protection regimes can therefore apply at the same time to an organisation conducting cross-border activities.

Financial Services

A large body of financial-services regulation originated in EU law.

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 created a separate programme for replacing retained EU financial legislation with rules made under the UK regulatory system.

Financial businesses may need to consider rules issued by:

• Parliament;


• HM Treasury;


• the Financial Conduct Authority;


• the Prudential Regulation Authority; and


• other relevant regulators.

Trade With the European Union

Leaving the EU gave the UK greater freedom to make domestic laws and negotiate trade agreements.

However, UK businesses exporting goods or services to the EU must still comply with relevant EU requirements to access that market.

A UK law can therefore differ from an EU rule while a British exporter may still need to meet the EU standard for products sold there.

Regulatory divergence can create greater domestic flexibility, but it may also increase:

• compliance costs;


• customs requirements;


• product testing;


• labelling differences;


• administrative work; and


• barriers to cross-border trade.

The Assimilated Law Dashboard

The Government created a public dashboard identifying retained EU and assimilated law and recording whether individual measures had been amended, replaced, revoked or retained.

The final statutory reporting period ended on 23 June 2026.

The dashboard received its final scheduled update in July 2026. Routine tracking is ending because the statutory reporting requirement has expired.

The end of routine reporting does not mean that assimilated law has disappeared or can no longer be amended.

Was the Original Brexit Task Completed?

The immediate objective of avoiding a legal vacuum was achieved. Existing rules continued while technical amendments were made to allow them to operate outside the EU.

The wider process of reviewing EU-derived legislation has been more gradual.

Some laws have been revoked or replaced, while many remain part of domestic law because they continue to regulate important areas effectively.

The scale of the task meant that the UK did not rewrite every relevant rule within two years, nor was that ultimately the approach adopted.

The Current Position

The proposed Repeal Bill became the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and has long since received Royal Assent.

The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020, and the transition period ended on 31 December 2020.

Most preserved EU-derived law was renamed assimilated law from 1 January 2024.

The temporary powers created by the 2023 reform legislation expired on 23 June 2026, although assimilated law can continue to be amended through ordinary legislation and regulatory powers.

Different arrangements continue to apply in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

Getting Legal Advice

Legal advice may be required where a business, worker or consumer is affected by:

• a change to assimilated law;


• new UK regulations;


• retained EU case law;


• cross-border contracts;


• product standards;


• employment rights;


• data protection;


• environmental rules;


• customs requirements; or


• the Windsor Framework.

Use the search facility at the top of this page to find a solicitor experienced in European law, commercial law, employment law, regulatory law or international trade.

Disclaimer

Solicitors.com is not a firm of solicitors. This article provides general information about Brexit and EU-derived law and does not constitute legal advice. The applicable rules will depend on the subject, the part of the UK involved and any cross-border arrangements.

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