Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

By using the expressions contained in the Bill, we are moving to a situation where the judiciary will be increasingly drawn into such questions. If that is the case, muddying the waters—through the conjunction of, on the one hand, the phrase "of the opinion of the Minister" and, on the other, the word "exceptionally"—will draw us into a real tangle. The judiciary is notoriously anxious to avoid getting involved in treaty interpretation, if at all possible. There is therefore a serious question to be addressed—if not in this sitting, then on Report and subsequently in the House of Lords—so that much more careful consideration can be given, however useful this debate has been, and we are making progress.