Yes, there are many organisations, including the Bar Council, and I will develop that point later in my speech. It is important to recognise that this is not a case of the people sitting down the other end of the corridor making things up on the hoof. They were doing it on the basis of expertise and the opinions of others.
It was not the end of the matter after the Commons sent the Bill back to their lordships. Their lordships were intent on their ambition and refused to let the matter drop. Happily, that situation has been improved somewhat in recent days. I will return to the message from their lordships quite soon. Before I do that, I am happy to reiterate our support for the Bill’s provisions in clause 1, which give effect to key international conventions in our domestic law. That is very welcome on these Benches.
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The 1996 Hague convention on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition, enforcement and co-operation in respect of parental responsibility and measures for the protection of children is critical to improve the protection of children in cross-border disputes, and I have mentioned some of the difficult cases that some of us have learned of in the past.
The 2005 Hague convention on choice of court agreements aims to ensure the efficacy of exclusive choice of court agreements between parties to international commercial transactions, which is another important element covered in the Bill. We support this incorporation into domestic law as such clauses are commonly provided for in high-value commercial disputes. The 2007 Hague convention on the international recovery of child support and other forms of family maintenance provides for the international recovery of child support and spousal maintenance. Again, that is very welcome and just illustrates how we make law in this country, in this place, that applies directly to the lives of families and, of course, of children. It is abundantly clear that this is a positive move, which will help to ensure that parents pay their fair share when providing for their children.
Labour wholeheartedly welcomes the implementation of these agreements not only because of the legal certainty that they provide, but because of the way that they are being implemented by primary legislation debated on the Floor of this House. They are good provisions, and we all hope that more certainty can be offered in other areas of cross-jurisdictional disputes.
As I said on Second Reading, it was a different matter when it came to clause 2. We felt that we could not support any attempts by the Government to reintroduce clause 2, which would allow for the future agreements to be implemented through secondary legislation only. As we heard in the other place, this provision would be of profound constitutional significance. Labour was concerned, and we remain concerned, that the reintroduction of clause 2 in its entirety would represent an extension of the power of the Executive into uncharted territory, amending the convention that international legal agreements that change our domestic law can be given force only by an Act of Parliament.
I remind Ministers that the House of Lords Constitution Committee said that the change would represent
“a significant new power that would change the way this type of international agreement is implemented in UK law and how Parliament scrutinises them.”
The House of Lords Constitution Committee and the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee both considered whether the secondary legislating power should be granted and both were very clear that it should not. Indeed, the Constitution Committee stated:
“If the balance between the executive and Parliament is to be altered in respect of international agreements, it should be in favour of greater parliamentary scrutiny and not more executive power.”
On Second Reading, I quoted Lord Mance, the chair of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law and perhaps the pre-eminent expert in this area of law. He told the other place:
“Opinion is almost universally against Clause 2.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 17 June 2020; Vol. 803, c. 228.]
The two Committees that have reported have categorically condemned it. I also quoted Lord Pannick, another pre-eminent constitutional lawyer. He argued that there is
“no justification for allowing the law of this country to be changed by statutory instrument in this context without full parliamentary debate. That is because important policy decisions might arise in this context both on whether to implement an international agreement in domestic law and on the manner in which such an agreement is to be implemented.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 17 June 2020; Vol. 803, c. 2224.]
The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee also offered a stern warning about the unprecedented nature of this constitutional change. It said:
“For the first time there will exist a power to implement international general agreements on private international law by statutory instrument, thereby obviating the need for an Act of Parliament. This will be so regardless of the nature or importance of the agreement.”
The Minister has discussed that with us this afternoon, and made clear the Government’s concessions in this area.