Michael Gove’s BBC interview, in which he disagrees with his Prime Minister over whether his renegotiation deal is indeed legally binding, is a sign of how confusing the referendum campaign is going to get. The Justice Secretary is perfectly polite as he dismisses the stance of his own government, but he is still the Justice Secretary dismissing the stance of his own government, and that is only made marginally less odd by the suspension of collective responsibility.
Gove said:
‘The European Court of Justice interprets the European Union treaties and until this agreement is embodied in treaty change, then the European Court of Justice is not bound by this agreement.’
He added that ‘ultimately it is a matter of European law and British law that only treaties have effect, and that because these agreements that have been reached are not yet treaty changes, the European Court of Justice could take a different view’.
Number 10 is insisting that ‘Britain’s new settlement in the EU has legal force and is an irreversible international law decision that requires the European Court of Justice to take it into account’.
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