Britain could take EU to COURT over Brexit divorce bill to expose 'INFLATED' cash demands

It came after French President Emmanuel Macron
dismissed an unofficial offer of £20billion by Theresa
May during last week’s summit, claiming “we are not
halfway there”.
It is understood the EU has pegged Britain’s
obligations to at least £60billion.
Last night sources close to Brexit Secretary David
Davis said they were viewing the option of convening
an ad-hoc tribunal as a way to break the log-jam and
move on to trade talks.
The idea was backed by Professor David Collins, an
international law expert, who said the financial
settlement issue could be resolved within “one to two
months” of a tribunal convening.
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Sources close to David Davis said they were viewing
the option of convening an ad-hoc tribunal
A
classic
example is the Iran-US Claims Tribunal, established in
1981.
It has resolved 3,900 financial claims by both nations
over the 1979 embassy hostage crisis.
Brussels, too, already uses similar methods in
resolving trade issues with global trading partners such
as Vietnam and Canada.
“There is an argument that the International Court of
Justice at The Hague would not have jurisdiction over
this, because it deals with issues between states, and
the EU is not a state,” said Professor Collins, of
London University’s City Law School.
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“Brussels has a long tradition of this kind of thing,
particularly with international investment arbitration.
The EU has consented to having claims brought
against it by private investors through this system,
which sets up tribunals on an ad hoc basis. A tribunal
for the divorce settlement could be set up relatively
quickly.”
Professor Collins said it would require an odd number
of judges, probably three: one British, one from the EU
and a third from a neutral country.
If there was difficulty in reaching an agreement over
the third judge, he or she could be appointed by the
International Court of Justice.
The Brexit tribunal would “probably be held in
Brussels”, he said.
Professor Collins said the Brexit tribunal would
'probably be held in Brussels'
“Each side would have an avenue by which to present
its arguments and both sides would have a chance to
respond.”
In March, analysis by the Brussels-based Bruegel
think-tank found the UK could owe the EU as little as
£21billion.
However, it also said it could be substantially higher.
A tribunal for the divorce settlement could be set up
relatively quickly
One controversial sticking point is a £6billion demand
by Brussels to fund the pensions of retired EU
officials.
At a summit meeting last week, it took the 27 EU
leaders just 90 seconds to agree on a statement in
which they ruled that insufficient progress had been
made over the three key withdrawal issues: citizens’
rights, the Irish border and the financial settlement.
Professor Collins said: “Clearly, the fault for the slow
pace lies with the EU. It is being strategic and
opportunistic over what it sees as disunity at the heart
of Government.
“It would be interesting to see Brussels’ reaction to
the idea of a tribunal. They could feel it would uncover
the fact that the financial claims are inflated. That’s
precisely why David Davis is right to be considering it.”

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