Legal protection after Brexit: companies find it difficult to get their rights

In the last few days it has become clear that new trade rules between the EU and Britain are causing significant problems. Empty supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland, multimillion-dollar losses in fishing in Scotland and many hulliers’ refusal to ship goods to Britain are only the first signs that significant problems and uncertainties could occur in the next few months – perhaps years. For companies and their executives, an important question arises: how can they enforce their claims and obtain legal protection in such situations?

Gone are the days when a complex legal protection network with the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg ensured that the rights were effectively protected. It has now been replaced by an extremely incomplete dispute settlement mechanism for trade between the European Union and the United Kingdom. In the future, companies will have a more difficult time enforcing their rights. And in many cases there will not be legal protection. This effect of Brexit has hardly been taken into account yet, but will create additional problems in the future.