United Kingdom Internal Market Bill: House of Lords Committee Stage:

By the Government introducing a law in Parliament which would authorize the deliberate breaching of the WA, the UK is arguably in breach of its negative obligation under Article 5 to refrain from measures jeopardising the attainment of the objectives of the Agreement. [...] The Rule of Law and International Law The Rule of Law is one of the cornerstones of the constitutional legal order of the UK. [...] Alongside the amendment, the Government has also published a Statement on the notwithstanding clauses in the Bill, in which it commits to asking Parliament to support the use of the provisions in clauses 44, 45 and 47 of the Bill “only in the case of, in our view, the EU being engaged in a material 22 Tom Bingham, The Rule of Law (2010), chapter 10, “The Rule of Law in the International Legal Orde. [...] The Rule of Law compatible alternative The Government says that it needs the clauses in the Bill in the event that the EU insists on unreasonable interpretations of the WA/NIP. [...] Moreover, the UK agreed to the exclusivity of the dispute settlement procedures provided for in the Agreement: for any dispute arising under the Agreement, the parties are only to have recourse to the procedures provided for in the Agreement.25 The Rule of Law-regarding way for the UK to proceed if it has concerns about the EU’s interpretation of the Agreement is therefore by invoking the dispute.