In April, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the UK’s most senior judge, stated during his speech to an audience in Beijing that despite claims by some commentators, Brexit will not make the commercial law of the UK uncertain.
This is because, in short, the core principles of UK Commercial Law are derived from common law and are developed and maintained by the English courts and Parliament rather than by the European Union meaning Brexit is unlikely to have a huge impact.
Parliament has also pledged to protect the commercial law sector in a House of Commons report from April 2017, explaining that protecting the UK as a top-class commercial law centre should be a major priority for the Government in Brexit negotiations “given the clear impacts on the UK economy of failure to do so”.
The main qualities on the UK commercial law sector; being, to a certain degree, impenetrable to external influence, predictable, flexible, and allowing of parties to form contracts freely, are therefore unlikely to diminish post-Brexit.
Our commercial law is also well-established, well understood, and is the law of choice for 40% of all global corporate arbitration. UK common law is also used by nearly 30% of the world’s legal jurisdictions. Lord Thomas emphasised that, “English contract and commercial law remains as the UK’s ‘national treasure’.”
In summary, while there are certain business practices that may need to be assessed in a post-Brexit world, the law itself will not be compromised.
Is your business prepared for any changes coming once the UK leaves the European Union? Have you assessed your commercial contracts to ensure you are not caught out? For legal advice from commercial law specialists, please call 0845 287 0939 or contact the team by email.
