The impact and consequences of Brexit on acquired rights of EU citizens living in the UK and British citizens living in the EU-27

Tanulmány 02-05-2017

On the request of the AFCO Committee, the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs commissioned this study, which examines the concept of acquired (or ‘vested’) rights in public international law, analyses the gradual establishment and evolution of these rights and draws from case law as well as other precedents in order to establish the validity and force of acquired rights in customary and conventional international law. It also analyses the protection of such rights within the EU legal order, and examines the citizenship rights that will have to be taken into account during the UK withdrawal negotiations as well as their potential permanence in the EU and UK legal orders after Brexit. It concludes with an assessment on the legal force of acquired rights after Brexit and recommendations for their treatment during and after the withdrawal negotiations.