Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

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Key definition

Retained EU law definition

What does Retained EU law mean? Retained EU law refers in UK legal practice to the EU-derived legislation, rights and case law that were preserved and converted into domestic law when the European Communities Act 1972 was repealed at the end of the Brexit transition (31 December 2020). It is a statutory term created by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020. It covered: (i) EU regulations and decisions taking effect as retained direct EU legislation; (ii) UK regulations and Acts made to implement EU directives (EU-derived domestic legislation); and (iii) directly effective EU rights and CJEU...

From retained EU law to assimilated law in the UK: a quick guide to scope, status, interpretation, sunset and reform under EU(W)A 2018 and REUL(RR)A 2023

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Practice notes

Assimilated law and Retained EU law are concepts created by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EU(W)A 2018), as amended, arising from Brexit, and denoting a new class of domestic legislation. They are umbrella labels used, at two junctures in the UK legal system’s engagement with Brexit, for the corpus of EU‑derived rules kept within domestic law following the transition period (termed IP completion day in the EU(W)A 2018 and associated legislation). For initial background reading, see Practice Note: Retained EU law and assimilated law.

Assimilated law versus retained EU law: what’s the difference?

Both expressions describe the residual body of domestic rules originally deriving from the UK’s membership of the EU. The pair marks two phases in the legal system’s adaptation to Brexit:

retained EU law was the label for that body as it was preserved or converted into UK law at the close of the Brexit ‘implementation period’ at 11 pm on 31 December 2020, and as it operated until the end of 2023 (for ease, the 2021–23 period). During that time, it had a...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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