Revival or Eternal Death? The Impact of Brexit on Early Bilateral Agreements in the Area of Aviation and Social Security Between the UK and EU Member States

The purpose of this article is to assess whether the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) may entail the revival of the early bilateral agreements between the UK and EU member states. The main claim is that the earlier bilateral agreements may be reinstated pursuant to international law, but the revival is substantially narrowed due to the limitations arising from EU law and the new EU – UK legal framework. This is based on the argument that the earlier bilateral agreements were not terminated or suspended in operation, and remain in force with limited application. After providing the outline of the new legal relations between the EU and the UK, the article analyses the framework provided for subsequent agreements in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and the case-law of international tribunals. The current analysis draws implications for a revival from EU Treaties and the case-law of the Court of Justice of the EU. Finally, general considerations are provided as applied to agreements in the two specific fields reviewed, namely aviation and coordination of social security.