BREXIT: Potential Legal Implications For Mauritius

As share prices plunged dramatically across the globe and the pound sterling reached a 30-year low last Friday 24 June, the world was made brutally aware of the results of the so-called "Brexit" referendum whereby the United Kingdom (UK) decided by a small majority of 51.9% to leave the European Union (EU). The next step in the formal process to withdraw from the EU would be for the UK government to serve notice on the EU under article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (the "EU Treaty"). The EU Treaty provides for a period of 2 years during which the terms of exit would be negotiated between the UK and the UK, unless a different date is agreed.

Mauritius has a number of treaties in place with the UK and a large number of them predate 1973 when the UK became a full-fledged number of the European Economic Community. Going further back in time, there were treaties in place between Mauritius and the UK dating from before our independence in 1968 and which were extended and continued after independence.

It is difficult at this stage to identify what the consequences of a Brexit would have on Mauritius as this would be largely determined by the terms of the exit deal agreed with the UK. A few of the exit options are: the UK remains part of the European Economic Area but not the EU (like Norway and Iceland), the UK joining the European Free Trade Association but remain outside of the EEA (such as Switzerland) or the UK could join a customs union (like Turkey). However, this article purports to highlight a few of the potential areas of concern from a Mauritius legal perspective:

1. International conventions between Mauritius and the EU

   There are a number of sectors where our relationship with the UK is inextricably linked to an agreement with the EU. Such agreements would having a binding effect on the UK since it is currently a fully-fledged member of the EU. This includes, for instances, the Economic Partnership Agreement and the Fisheries Partnership Agreement. We will now have to see how such agreements with the UK will be "continued" (or not continued) bilaterally between the UK and Mauritius after the UK's exit from the EU.

   There are other agreements which are entered directly between the UK and Mauritius, such as the double taxation treaty. Any such agreements will continue to exist as they operate irrespective of the UK's membership to the EU.

2. Visa Requirements

   Another relevant issue to consider are visa requirements to enter the UK...