Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Act 2020

Key Points

• Authorises implementing international agreements in private international law by regulations (Clause 2), but efforts were made to keep the scope tightly focused on private international law and to narrow or constrain regulatory powers.
• A key aim is to preserve continuity of international rules after Brexit, by disapplying certain EU-era provisions and ensuring the Lugano and Hague frameworks continue to apply post-transition (via Schedule 5 and related amendments).
• The bill introduces safeguards and oversight for regulations that could create offences or alter penalties (Schedule 6), with debates about how strong the scrutiny should be and who should have final say.
• Devolution and Crown dependencies are given explicit consideration: instruments affecting devolved matters require consent from devolved governments, and there are provisions to extend the regime to the Isle of Man by Order in Council.
• Several amendments sought to narrow scope or adjust mechanisms (e.g., to limit Clause 2 to private international law only, to withdraw or modify Schedule 6, and to require super-affirmative scrutiny), with a number of these changes accepted or retained in various forms during the Lords stages.

Progress

The bill progressed through both Houses, underwent extensive scrutiny and amendments, and received Royal Assent on 14 December 2020, at which point it became law.

Voting

In the Lords’ committee stage, the New Clause 5 amendment was passed by 324 votes to 175. The government-backed Conservative peers generally voted for; Labour (including its Co-op group) and Liberal Democrat peers largely opposed, with other parties showing mixed or smaller levels of support. This reflects a government-led measure with opposition from main opposition benches, and some cross-party support from a few smaller groups.