Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 34 of Chapter 4 of the White Paper, The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, Cm. 9653, published on 12 July 2018, what actions the Joint Committee will be empowered to take in the event of significant divergences between the interpretation of agreements by the courts of the UK and the EU.

The proposed role of the Joint Committee is set out in Chapter 4 of the White Paper. It will be responsible for the functioning of the overarching institutional framework, which will encompass most of our agreements with the EU. It will do so through regular and structured dialogue, and by making decisions in order to manage any issues, and mitigate any disputes that might arise, including where significant divergences in interpretation had been identified.

If a dispute were to arise due to a significant divergence, a formal dispute could be raised in the Joint Committee. In some areas, it may be escalated to independent arbitration if a resolution cannot be reached in the Joint Committee.