Mick Antoniw: The answer is that I certainly do agree. There has been argument in terms of what we mean by a Welsh judge or a Welsh representative on the Supreme Court and, of course, the issue is not just with regard to the Supreme Court, but also the lower level courts as well. There is an opportunity that arises in that, over the next two years, six Supreme Court justices will retire. Representations...
Mick Antoniw: A motion in the House of Commons wouldn’t, but legislation would. It would depend—legislation, presumably in the form of the great repeal Bill, will precede a vote. The vote will be on a treaty, and it will probably be to endorse. But depending upon the nature of that and what implications that has in terms of legislation that is passed in Westminster, again, it would have issues with...
Mick Antoniw: The Welsh Government has made representations on a number of occasions regarding appointing a Welsh member to the Supreme Court.
Mick Antoniw: Well, almost certainly what is going to follow the triggering of article 50 will be legislation, which will trigger the Sewel convention, and there will be issues of debate within this Chamber in the form of legislative consent memoranda and legislative consent motions. I think that is almost inevitable, subject to the type of legislation that is actually brought forward. As I’ve said, we...
Mick Antoniw: Can I first of all thank you for the question? Because there’s been quite a lot of misunderstanding and misrepresentation in terms of the outcome of the article 50 Supreme Court case. Just to make clear to this Chamber, as I have done in the past, but perhaps not as clearly as I should have done, the two key issues on which we went into the Supreme Court were actually upheld. One was in...
Mick Antoniw: The Member is absolutely right that our process of codification and consolidation—the non-reforming consolidation that would go along with that—mustn’t interfere with the work that this Assembly carries out and the Government’s legislative programme and, indeed, the programmes of legislation that may arise from individual Members and so on. It must also not distract us from the really...
Mick Antoniw: I think in the whole area of having the law available online and accessible in that way, there is still a considerable amount of work that needs to be done. Obviously, significant steps were undertaken by my predecessor to get the system up and running, but I think that starting the actual codification process itself creates additional demands and additional expectations. I think there is a...
Mick Antoniw: Although early days, we have begun to scope potential consolidation projects, as well as starting work necessary to determine effective processes for codifying and better publishing the laws of Wales. And as part of this process we continue to work with the Law Commission on the planning consolidation and codification project.
Mick Antoniw: There are very considerable benefits to the codification programme, and I don’t hesitate, as I’ve said in this Chamber, to identify the fact that it couldn’t come at a more difficult time—at a time when we have all the demands on resources, legal resources, around the issues of Brexit, issues around the great repeal Bill and all the demands that will be made there, and at a time when...
Mick Antoniw: Members will know that I place great value on the protection of marine natural resources and you will be aware of the active prosecution work being undertaken by me on behalf of the Welsh Government.
Mick Antoniw: There’s no doubt that we’re going to be in an environment, first, that is going to be more challenging, but it’s never been more important to actually be protecting not only our maritime and our environmental resources, but ensuring that Welsh laws in that respect are fully protected and implemented. I previously reported on the number of infringements that have led to successful...
Mick Antoniw: The advice I would give to them is to make all the representations they can through their representatives—whether it be the Assembly, whether it be Members of Parliament—and also to recognise the steps that the First Minister and the Welsh Government are taking to argue this case. I’d also refer specifically—. I think it is worth, perhaps, us reiterating the point in ‘Securing...
Mick Antoniw: I would agree with the Member that it is extraordinary that we are still having this debate so long after the referendum. It is perhaps extraordinary that the Member is also totally disagreeing with the member of his group who appeared on ‘Sharp End’, who actually said that she was of the view, and that UKIP’s position was, that they should be given immediate rights, and they should not...
Mick Antoniw: The Member is absolutely right. And, of course, many of those citizens have made the point that they may have lived in Wales, or in the United Kingdom, for 30 or 40 plus years, and that they may have voted in European elections, and yet they were excluded from participating in the referendum, and they do feel an injustice. There have been representations made with regard to the impact and the...
Mick Antoniw: Can I say to the Member, I fully understand the points that she makes, which very much reflect the comments that were made in the Welsh Government’s White Paper? For example, I understand there are in the region of 120,000 EU citizens in Wales. There are 1,360 academic staff, and there are many in our NHS and care sector. And I think back as to—and I’m sure we could all do the...
Mick Antoniw: The Welsh Government has made its position very clear: we have called for the rights of EU migrants already living in Wales to be guaranteed immediately.
Mick Antoniw: The Member will understand that there are a lot of unknowns and uncertainties in the UK Government’s whole approach to this area. It’s clear that there are a significant number of areas in which the EU has legislated but which fall within devolved competence. Amongst those will be agriculture, fisheries, food standards, water resources, waste, pollution prevention and control, climate...
Mick Antoniw: This question engages the law officers’ convention. But I can say that we are at every level working to ensure that powers to deal with EU legislation in devolved areas following withdrawal sit in Wales so that decisions about future policy in those areas are taken by Wales and in Wales’s best interests. This will involve a critical consideration of the UK Government’s great repeal Bill.
Mick Antoniw: Well, I’ll just say to the Member that the issues of justice and the issues of the disclosure of files are not within the jurisdiction of Welsh Government. It is not a devolved matter. As I understand it, what the Member is raising is the issue of the impact of perceived miscarriages of justice, how they’re perceived within Wales, and the impact that has on the integrity of the judicial...
Mick Antoniw: Well, I thank you very much for the question. Of course, the campaign in respect of the Shrewsbury pickets is one of a number of miscarriage-of-justice campaigns from the 1970s and 1980s, amongst them Hillsborough and Orgreave. Of course, the common issue that arises in that campaign and others is the issue relating to the integrity of the judicial system and the alleged abuse of power. Of...
