Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

The noble Lord, Lord Greenway, has tabled interesting amendments, which we support. It is important that it is made absolutely clear that it is an offence if international agreements are not complied with, and that this should mean referral to the courts. Will the Minister tell us whether this is the case? We have already spoken in our debate on Amendment 73 about the importance of guidance on the implementation of, or compliance with, obligations of the UK under EU treaties and international agreements. We agreed, I think, that it was crucial both for the UK to abide by new and old agreements and for other countries to do the same with regard to us. We cannot operate in a vacuum, and the success of the Bill will depend in large part on how well international agreements are adhered to both by us and by them. I therefore agree with the noble Lord, Lord Greenway, that it is of the utmost importance that we clarify whether non-compliance with international obligations means referral to the courts. Will the Minister clarify the position? Does he agree that it would be helpful to put this into the Bill? On Amendment 97, six weeks is too short. A person who is aggrieved by a relevant document must have time to acquire the document, to process it and to write up an application. When dealing with the complex issues to which the noble Lord referred and which the Bill is likely to raise, six weeks is a very short time. I hope the Minister thinks that this issue deserves further thought.