Study title

Table presenting the intersection between key EU legal provisions and the scope of devolved competence under Government of Wales Act 2006 (pre and post the 2018 move to the reserved powers model). Data is derived from primary legal sources - Acts of Parliament, EU legislation and Treaties, and UK Government document (see document attached for more information).What will it mean for the law in Wales if the decision is taken for the UK to leave the EU? And if it decides to stay? Over the past two years, the UK Government has undertaken a review of the way in which powers are shared between the EU and the UK, across the range of policy areas in which the EU can act. The purpose of the Balance Of Competences review is to assemble a body of evidence to help decide whether or not continued membership is in the UKs national interest. But the consideration of what is in the national interest may look very different from Cardiff, Belfast or Edinburgh than it does in London. Devolution has meant that the devolved administrations have the power to adopt their own laws on certain matters, and differences are starting to emerge across the UK in the laws that may apply. Policies may have very different impacts across the different regions of the UK. To adopt its own legislation, Wales, as with the other devolved powers, needs to have been given the competence to do so. It also has to ensure it is complying with the requirements of EU law when it legislates. Whilst there may be (un)popular images of EU law requiring exactly the same rules to be applied across all the countries of the Union, scope for differences certainly exist. The purpose of this project is to examine the Balance of Competences review from the perspective of devolved power. Does the account of the law, and of who does what, in the review, clearly reflect what is in the competence of the devolved administrations, and what remains in the power of the central UK political institutions? Is it clear from a...