The Lugano convention – part of a tapestry of complicated international law agreements ensuring the courts of one country recognise the courts of another – has a dull name but it matters a great deal. Since the EU referendum, the convention has played a small role in the great internecine conflict between Britain and Brussels. Much energy has been wasted in this series of pointless bust-ups.
And now, the EU is determined to use the Lugano convention – a playing field it claims to control – to ensure Britain pays a price for Brexit, by effectively blocking us from rejoining the convention.
Why does this matter? Because without the convention, business suffers. If a court in Germany finds you owe Barry £200,000, then the UK will let Barry enforce that debt over your London house. You can reverse the countries (or change Barry’s name) but that is the gist of it. And this is all possible thanks to the convention.
Like squabbling parents who have taken their divorce in to their child’s school, it is at best unseemly
This is important in a world of 193 countries (and even more sovereign legal systems) which imagine they enjoy sole dominion over the earth.
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