Parliamentary approval for agreements with the Union

Part of European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill – in the House of Commons at 3:30 pm on 7 February 2017.

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Photo of Mark Harper Mark Harper Conservative, Forest of Dean 3:30, 7 February 2017

May I return the hon. Lady to what she said about the different approaches that European states adopt to negotiation? I am not a lawyer, and I hesitate to express an opinion in the face of such eminent legal presence in the Chamber, but my understanding is that treaties made in countries such as Germany, which has a monist legal culture, are directly applicable without further legislation, whereas because ours is a dualist system, we have to legislate to put them into effect. Do not those countries take a tougher approach to their negotiation before authorising it because once their Governments are signed up to a treaty, it becomes law automatically?