Kicker: Government accused of breaching international law
By Abi Kay
THE UK Government is facing legal action over its failure to give the public a say on post-Brexit trade deals, with farm and environmental groups joining forces to challenge the approach.
The alliance, which includes the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA), Soil Association, Sustain, WWF and the Green Alliance, has said existing scrutiny arrangements are inadequate and breach global rules.
A formal complaint to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, set up to monitor the observance of international law, has now been filed by the group.
If the complaint is upheld, the committee has the power to make recommendations to give the public a say in future negotiations.
The legal challenge comes just days after the UK Government broke its own scrutiny pledge on the Australia deal, pushing it through Parliament with no debate.
Under current rules, Parliament has no option to veto a trade deal, it can only delay it.
TFA chief executive George Dunn said: The TFA has taken this unprecedented step because the Governments rhetoric on trade is not matched by its actions.
While we hear the Government say it wants to safeguard our high animal welfare, environmental and climate standards, the reality of the situation is entirely different.
We now know the UK Government went into trade negotiations with Australia and New Zealand with a clear view that the deals it was intending to strike would damage UK agriculture.
All we are asking is for the Government to properly implement its own stated policy to protect standards, rather than get away with saying one thing and doing another.
The public was consulted on the objectives of the different trade deals before the launch of negotiations, but there were no further opportunities for consultation before the final terms were agreed years later.
The alliance has said this amounts to a failure to comply with the Aarhus Convention, which requires opportunity for public participation at an appropriate stage, and while options are still open.
