Stephen Sidkin and Emma Roake, partner and legal director at Fox Williams, consider the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (Commercial Agents Regulations 1993) and what changes commercial agents can expect after the end of the Brexit transition period at 11 pm on 31 December 2020.
Do the Commercial Agents Regulations 1993 have a future in Great Britain after IP completion day?
Yes. The Commercial Agents Regulations 1993, SI 1993/3053, are EU-derived domestic legislation made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. Section 2 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended by section 25 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020) provides that EU-derived domestic legislation, as it has effect in domestic law immediately before IP completion day, continues to have effect in domestic law on and after IP completion day as retained EU law.
As such, the Commercial Agents Regulations 1993 will continue to apply after the end of the Brexit transition period, unless and until the UK Parliament decides to modify or repeal them.
This article was first published in LexisNexis UK on 21 December 2020.