Everlasting divorce? The temporal scope of the UK Withdrawal Agreement

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine and to provide a tentative temporal scope of the UK Withdrawal Agreement with a focus on the maximal time limits for its application. It begins with an analysis of the nature of the agreement and its impact on the temporal scope. Subsequently, a temporal scope is explored with respect to the core provisions of the agreement (citizens’ rights, financial settlement, various separation provisions, and dispute settlement) and the three protocols addressing the situation in Ireland/Northern Ireland, Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus. The focus is laid on determining the approximate time limits for the application of both the core provisions and the protocols. Their temporal scope is derived from their nature and an appropriate explanation to this effect is provided.