Brexit – Implications For Contract Disputes From 1 January 2021 Onwards

Managing disputes involving a UK counterparty will become more complex and costly from 1 January 2021. What changes can you make to your contracts to ensure that disputes can be resolved in a timely and cost effective manner?

The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 entering an implementation period during which the EU Rules on litigating cross-border disputes will continue to apply. The implementation period ends at 11.00pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 at which point the EU litigation regime, set out under the Brussels Recast Regulation, will cease to apply.

This means that the common set of rules relating to:

• jurisdiction (can I sue in the UK or in Ireland, for example?);
• applicable law (does Irish or UK law apply?);