Britain's role as a global legal centre will benefit from leaving the EU, Downing Street has claimed in its 'Benefits of Brexit document. The 108-page paper, widely interpreted as a bid to keep Conservative backbenchers in line, also promises legislation 'to end the special status of EU law'.

In the section 'A world of future opportunities', the document notes that the legal sector contributed over £29.6bn gross value added to the economy in 2019. 'We are promoting the UK’s attractiveness as a legal centre and as a centre for dispute resolution,' the document states. 

Highlighting the issue of international collaboration in private international law, the document reveals that the government is to consult on becoming a party to the Singapore Convention on Mediation. Participation in the 2019 treaty 'would provide an opportunity for the UK to take a more active role on the global stage on private international law matters and to ensure that our pre-eminent legal services sector maintains and cements its global position as a world leader'.

The legal sector will also benefit from 'unprecedented provisions' in free trade agreements (FTAs) made possible by Brexit, the document states. The Australia FTA 'secured the right of UK solicitors, barristers and advocates to practise using their UK title in both UK and international law'. The digital economy agreement with Singapore is the first trade agreement to include specific commitments on Lawtech.

Provisions supporting the legal services sector will be pursued in negotiations with priority jurisdictions, including Canada, Israel and Mexico. 

On the reform of retained EU law, the document states that a cross-government review will 'deliver an authoritative assessment of where retained EU law is concentrated on the statute book and across sectors of our economy'. The aim 'is to ensure that this foreign-derived body of law has the appropriate status given that we are no longer a member of the EU'.

The paper repeats earlier promises to create a 'pro-growth and innovation-friendly data protection regime'. 

Among the 'Brexit freedoms' already in force, the document lists the supremacy of the UK Supreme Court. 'UK judges, sitting in UK courts, now determine the law of the land in the UK, with judgments issued in English, not French, and accessible to those who speak Welsh.'