Thread by @Raphael_Hogarth

The passage of the Letwin amendment means that the Government will introduce the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill. This bill will authorise the Gvt to ratify the Brexit deal, and give effect to the deal in UK law. Some crucial points about the bill, and potential flashpoints:
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The EU(WA)B is needed for 2 reasons. First, treaties don't become part of UK law, and enforceable before UK courts, until Parliament gives them effect in UK law. This bill will do for the withdrawal agreement what the European Communities Act 1972 did for the EU Treaties.
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Second, s13 of the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 says that the Government cannot ratify the deal *in the first place* unless Parliament has passed an implementing statute.

So the bill isn't only required to make the treaty *work*. It's also required to *make the treaty*.
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What will the bill actually do? First, make provision for transition. It will probably do that by keeping the European Communities Act 1972 in force for the duration of the transition period (in the first instance, until Dec 2020, and possibly later).

From HMG's white paper:
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Second, it'll give effect to the citizens' rights part of the Agreement, making EU citz' ritghts directly enforceable in the UK courts, and setting up an "independent monitoring authority" as required by the treaty to keep tabs on HMG's (read: Home Office's) behaviour.
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Third, it'll give effect to the "divorce bill" in the agreement, giving ministers powers to make payments to the EU. This is expected to me the most sensitive bit in Parliament. Tory MPs may want to make payments conditional on a trade deal. (That'd be unlawful in intl law.)
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Fourth, it will do *something* to implement the new Protocol on Ireland, but we don't know what. Officials won't have had time to do much on this, so I suspect ministers will seek broad powers to implement the protocol later with secondary legislation. Will be controversial.

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Fifth, the bill will set up the new institutional framework between Parliament, the courts, and the EU. The deal and EU law therein will be given supremacy over UK law. The courts will be instructed on how to interpret that law. The ECJ will be given a couple of jurisdictions.
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The institutional provisions of the Bill will be hugely significant for the UK constitution and the status of Parliament, as I argued for @instituteforgov here. I hope that parliamentarians will scrutinise them carefully, even if they have to move fast.
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instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/b…

Sixth, it will deal with "separation issues" that the deal makes provision for, most of which are unlikely to bother MPs much: goods placed on the market; intellectual property, data obtained before the end of
transition period, ongoing public procurement procedures, etc.
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In addition to implementing the withdrawal agreement, the bill is likely to say something (at least once MPs get their hands on it) about the process for negotiating the future relationship - and, crucially, Parliament's role in that process.

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Issues likely to flare up:
1) Divorce £
2) Supremacy of EU law/role of ECJ
3) Provision on Irish Protocol, particularly if bill deals w consent
4) Breadth of ministerial powers
5) Sheer speed HMG is trying to get the bill through, given its huge constitutional significance

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And, of course
6) any attempt to attach a referendum by amending the legislation.

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And, of course
7) any attempts to to compel the government to negotiate a softer future relationship than it plans to, e.g. to negotiate a customs union with the EU.

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