The UK government has issued a response to the Justice Committee’s report on the implications of Brexit for the Crown Dependencies, published in March.
The letter, from the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice David Lidington, can be found here.
It confirms the Crown Dependencies’ formal relationship with the EU will end when the UK ceases to be a member. “However, this does not affect the longstanding constitutional relationship between the Crown Dependencies and the UK. The UK government has no plans to propose any changes to the constitutional relationship and I am happy to affirm our commitment to maintaining and strengthening our longstanding bond with each of the Crown Dependencies.”
On how the UK might manage a situation where the interests of the UK and the Crown Dependencies fundamentally differ, it says: “Part of our role in managing the relationship between the UK and the Crown Dependencies is to ensure that the Crown Dependencies’ interests are understood and taken into account across Whitehall. The MoJ, along with the Department for Exiting the European Union, has worked with other UK government departments since the EU referendum to facilitate direct contact between those departments and the Crown Dependencies and to ensure the implications of EU Exit for the Crown Dependencies are taken into account.
“Official-level roundtables are being held on financial services, trade, agriculture and fishing, the common travel area and customs. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union has also chaired regular meetings with the Chief Ministers of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man and will continue to do so as we enter the next phase of the exit process.
“The Ministry of Justice will continue to work across government to make sure the Crown Dependencies and their interests are taken into account as the UK develops policy. The Ministry of Justice will make representations on behalf of the Crown Dependencies and continue to facilitate discussions between HM Government and the Crown Dependencies, on all issues, including work in the context of EU Exit.
“The UK Government and each of the Crown Dependencies signed an International Identity Framework Agreement in 2007–2008. In these agreements, the UK committed that it will not act internationally on behalf of a Crown Dependency without prior consultation and that, where the interests of a Crown Dependency differ from those of the UK, the UK will seek to represent those interests when acting in an international capacity.
“The framework agreements also affirm that the Crown Dependencies and the UK will work together to resolve or clarify any differences which may arise between their respective interests. The UK government will continue to honour these agreements and we are committed to getting the best possible deal for all British jurisdictions when we leave the EU."