Britain and the European Union: UK Law Before, During and After Membership

Name: Britain and the European Union: UK Law Before, During and After Membership
Creator: TheLawToKnow Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

For most of its history the United Kingdom made its law on its own. From 1 January 1973 it was a member of the European Communities, later the European Union, and a large part of its law came from, or had to fit with, European law. It left on 31 January 2020, and its trading relationship with the EU has been governed by treaty since 1 January 2021. This chart follows the main laws and decisions of the three eras on four strands: how law is made and who rules on it, trade, people, and Northern Ireland. The table under it sets the three eras side by side.

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1972Making law and ruling on it· During membership (1973 to 2020)

The European Communities Act 1972

The Treaty of Accession was signed in January 1972 and the European Communities Act received Royal Assent in October 1972, giving European law effect in UK law.

Click or tap a dot to read it. Use the buttons above to show or hide a kind of change. Every entry is also listed in full below.

Read this first

These charts show the main turning points in the law of several countries, from our own knowledge. Each entry is one law or decision, dated by when it was passed or decided; the date it took effect is sometimes later. A chart is a map of turning points, not a complete history, and it records the law on paper, not how it was applied. Check the statutes and decisions named for the exact wording. It is general information, not legal advice.

The three eras side by side

A simplified comparison in broad strokes, for orientation. Each row has exceptions and details that the laws named in the chart set out.

Question	Before membership (to 1972)	During membership (1973 to 2020)	After exit (from 2020)
Where did law come from?	Acts of Parliament, regulations and the common law.	The same, plus EU regulations and directives, which took effect through the European Communities Act 1972.	Acts of Parliament and regulations. EU-derived law continues as assimilated law, which Parliament can amend or repeal.
Who had the last word on EU law?	Not relevant. The House of Lords was the final UK court.	The Court of Justice of the European Union on its meaning; UK courts applied its rulings.	The UK Supreme Court. The Court of Justice no longer rules for the UK, apart from limited areas set by the Withdrawal Agreement and the Windsor Framework.
Could Parliament pass any law?	Yes, subject only to the limits Parliament itself accepted.	In theory yes, and Parliament could repeal the 1972 Act; in practice courts set aside UK law that conflicted with EU law.	Yes, subject to the treaties the United Kingdom has signed, such as the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Trade with Europe	UK tariffs; membership of EFTA from 1960.	Part of the customs union and, from 1993, the single market: no tariffs, shared standards.	A trade agreement: no tariffs or quotas where the rules of origin are met, but customs and regulatory checks.
People moving	Immigration controlled by UK law.	Free movement of workers and citizens between the UK and other member states.	A points-based system for new arrivals from the EU; UK citizens no longer have EU free movement.
Standards (consumer, employment, environment)	Set by UK law alone.	Many minimum standards set at EU level.	Kept at first as retained EU law; now assimilated law that Parliament can change.
Northern Ireland	Part of the UK; no common EU framework.	The Good Friday Agreement and shared membership supported an open border.	The Protocol and, from 2023, the Windsor Framework apply some EU goods rules in Northern Ireland.

The story in each strand

Making law and ruling on it

Parliament was sovereign before 1973; the European Communities Act 1972 gave European law effect in the UK and, after Factortame, courts could set aside an Act that conflicted with it; the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and later laws turned EU law into UK law that Parliament may change.

Trade

The UK stayed outside the first Communities and joined EFTA in 1960; it joined the common market in 1973, shared the single market from 1993, and since 1 January 2021 trades with the EU under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

People and movement

EU citizens and UK citizens could live and work in each other’s countries while the UK was a member; free movement ended on 31 December 2020 and the UK now has a points-based immigration system.

Northern Ireland

The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and shared EU membership supported an open border; since 2020 the Protocol, and from 2023 the Windsor Framework, govern how goods move to and from Northern Ireland.

Every turning point, in order

Making law and ruling on it

1972 The European Communities Act 1972
During membership (1973 to 2020)
The Treaty of Accession was signed in January 1972 and the European Communities Act received Royal Assent in October 1972, giving European law effect in UK law.
1973 The United Kingdom joins
During membership (1973 to 2020)
On 1 January 1973 the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark became members of the European Communities.
1975 The 1975 referendum
During membership (1973 to 2020)
The first UK-wide referendum, on 5 June 1975, confirmed membership: about two-thirds of those voting said yes.
1990 Factortame
During membership (1973 to 2020)
In the Factortame cases of 1990 and 1991 the House of Lords, after a ruling of the Court of Justice, set aside part of an Act of Parliament that conflicted with European law.
2009 The Lisbon Treaty and Article 50
During membership (1973 to 2020)
The Treaty of Lisbon came into force on 1 December 2009 and, for the first time, gave every member state a legal procedure for withdrawing, in Article 50.
2011 The European Union Act 2011
During membership (1973 to 2020)
This Act required a referendum before the United Kingdom could agree to certain transfers of power to the Union.
2015 The European Union Referendum Act
Leaving (2015 to 2020)
Parliament provided for an in-or-out referendum on membership.
2016 The referendum of 23 June 2016
Leaving (2015 to 2020)
A majority of those voting, 51.9 per cent, chose to leave the European Union.
2017 Miller and Article 50
Leaving (2015 to 2020)
In January 2017 the Supreme Court held in the Miller case that Parliament had to authorise the notice of withdrawal; the notice under Article 50 was given on 29 March 2017.
2018 The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
Leaving (2015 to 2020)
The Act provided for the repeal of the European Communities Act on exit day and for EU law then in force to continue as “retained EU law” until Parliament changed it.
2020 Exit day
After exit (from 2020)
The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 received Royal Assent on 23 January and the United Kingdom left the Union at 11 pm on 31 January 2020, with a transition period to the end of the year.
2020 End of the transition period
After exit (from 2020)
On 31 December 2020 the transition ended. EU law then in force became retained EU law, and the European Communities Act 1972 was repealed.
2023 The Retained EU Law Act
After exit (from 2020)
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 ended the special status of EU law in UK courts from the end of 2023 and renamed what remained “assimilated law”.

Trade

1957 The Treaty of Rome
Before membership (to 1972)
Six countries founded the European Economic Community by the Treaty of Rome in 1957, after the Coal and Steel Community of 1951. The United Kingdom did not join.
1960 EFTA
Before membership (to 1972)
The United Kingdom was a founding member of the European Free Trade Association, set up by the Stockholm Convention of 1960 as an alternative to the common market.
1963 The first veto
Before membership (to 1972)
France vetoed the United Kingdom’s application to join in January 1963, and did so again in 1967.
1986 The Single European Act
During membership (1973 to 2020)
The Single European Act of 1986 set the aim of a single market by the end of 1992 and widened majority voting on market rules.
1993 The single market
During membership (1973 to 2020)
The single market came into being on 1 January 1993, with free movement of goods, services, capital and people.
2021 The Trade and Cooperation Agreement
After exit (from 2020)
Agreed on 24 December 2020 and applied from 1 January 2021, it provides for trade in goods without tariffs or quotas where the rules of origin are met. The United Kingdom left the single market and the customs union.

People and movement

1992 The Maastricht Treaty
During membership (1973 to 2020)
The Treaty on European Union, signed in 1992, created citizenship of the Union. The United Kingdom kept an opt-out from the single currency.
2021 Free movement ends
After exit (from 2020)
From 1 January 2021 the free movement of people between the United Kingdom and the Union ended. EU citizens arriving after that date come under the UK points-based system.

Northern Ireland

1998 The Good Friday Agreement
During membership (1973 to 2020)
The Belfast or Good Friday Agreement of 10 April 1998 set up the political settlement in Northern Ireland; shared EU membership of the UK and Ireland helped keep the border open.
2019 The Northern Ireland Protocol
Leaving (2015 to 2020)
The revised Withdrawal Agreement of October 2019 contained a Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.
2020 The Internal Market Act 2020
After exit (from 2020)
The United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, passed in December, set rules for trade between the four nations of the United Kingdom after the transition.
2023 The Windsor Framework
After exit (from 2020)
Agreed on 27 February 2023, the Windsor Framework revised the Protocol on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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TheLawToKnow Tools. Britain and the European Union: UK Law Before, During and After Membership. https://tools.thelawtoknow.com/law-evolution/britain-and-the-european-union.