European Union (Amendment) Bill

I am sure noble Lords will understand that I have almost forgotten what I was going to say. However, I can be persuaded back to the protocol that I was going to quote from. It has a clarity of language which everybody should accept as saying what it means and meaning what it says. We should not look for hidden elephant traps which are not really there. Article 1 states: "““The Charter does not extend the ability of the Court of Justice of the European Union, or any court or tribunal of Poland or of the United Kingdom, to find that the laws, regulations or administrative provisions, practices or actions of Poland or of the United Kingdom are inconsistent with the fundamental rights, freedoms and principles that it reaffirms””." That simplicity of language was devised so that people who are proud to profess themselves non-lawyers can understand it without the obfuscation that lawyers frequently introduce into the argument. Paragraph (2) of Article 1 has the same level of simplicity. All I want to say, in what would have been a very brief contribution were it not for multiple interventions, is that the Charter of Fundamental Rights is clear. It records existing rights. The charter sets out a list of the rights and freedoms that people already have and enjoy as EU citizens. In conclusion, I ask my noble friend to confirm one thing when she replies so that, as a humble non-lawyer, I can see whether my understanding might have some modicum of truth. Are the Government confident that a legally binding charter preserves the legal status quo in the United Kingdom? That is a simple question, capable of a ““yes”” or ““no”” answer. I look forward to her answer, which she can give with great brevity.