Published: 13th January 2020 The latest briefing on the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill from Public Law Project draws attention to Clause 26 and the implications for legal certainty. Read the PLP’s briefing on Clause 26 What does Clause 26 do? Clause 26 creates a power for ministers to make regulations to allow specified lower courts and tribunals to depart from any retained EU case law made before exit day. The clause would also allow a minister to lay down the test which a lower court or tribunal must apply in deciding whether to depart from any retained EU case law. Legal certainty The concern raised by PLP is that if lower courts are not bound by existing CJEU case law this risks a proliferation of different decisions on the same legal point from lower courts, which are not necessarily binding on other courts and tribunals. This would undermine legal certainty. Next steps The House of Lords Second Reading of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill takes place on Monday 13 January. The Bill is in Committee from Tuesday through to Thursday of that week. Report stage will take place the week beginning the 20th January. Baroness Taylor, Lord Beith and Lord Anderson have signed Lord Pannick’s amendments to Clause 26. Read the PLP’s briefing on Clause 26Read Lord Pannick’s amendment to Clause 26Read Lord Pannick’s leader in The Times, Monday 13 JanuaryRead Oliver Wright in The Times, Sunday 12 January