united-kingdom european-union
Could the UK &quot;sue the EU&quot; in a way which affects the Brexit settlement?
<p>It has been reported (for example <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44838028" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>) that Donald Trump suggested the UK sue the EU as an alternative to negotiating Brexit. Many interpretations of these comments are possible and as the discussion below shows, I am not having much success making sense of them, but here goes.</p>
<p>I want to ask if the UK government could, through some legal process force the EU to offer a deal more to their liking. In other words could some court or similar body constrain the form of any final agreement or alter the way in which the EU negotiates, possibly imposing some compensation if the EU doesn't comply?</p>
<p>As a layperson the only venue I can think of for such a legal process would be the <a href="https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodies/court-justice_en" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Court of Justice of the European Union</a> (CJEU). According to the link just given, the functions of the CJEU include</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>ensuring the EU takes action (actions for failure to act)</strong> – the Parliament, Council and Commission must make certain decisions under certain circumstances. If they don't, EU governments, other EU institutions or (under certain conditions) individuals or companies can complain to the Court.</p>
</li>
<li><p><strong>sanctioning EU institutions (actions for damages)</strong> – any person or company who has had their interests harmed as a result of the action or inaction of the EU or its staff can take action against them through the Court.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>On the face of it either of these could be an answer, but it is not so clear if they really apply here. Note the link does not give a compete list of things the CJEU can do, but only the most common ones.</p>

<p>Could the UK &quot;sue the EU&quot; in a way which affects the Brexit settlement?</p>
<h1>No.</h1>
<p>You can't sue for a sovereign entity's alleged breach of an international treaty that it signed with another sovereign entity, unless a specific court was agreed in the treaty to serve as the authority with the jurisdiction to resolve disputes. There is no default jurisdiction that decides when international treaties have been breached and issues orders accordingly.</p>
<p>The CJEU is an internal EU entity.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Could the UK “sue the EU” to alter the Brexit settlement? Is this
  possible?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>No. That's a mistaken and vexatious suggestion. No one who knows the basics of <em>contract law</em> would come up with that suggestion.</p>

<p>It appears that the UK negotiation team <em>knowingly and willfully</em> accepted the terms of the agreement it reached with its EU counterpart. Absent evidence that the agreement was entered under hardship or made fraudulently, the UK would not prevail in a lawsuit about terms to which it has consented.</p>

<p>The UK could sue the EU on grounds which to this date do not appear to have occurred, such as fraudulent misrepresentations, or a EU's unilateral and material breach of the terms agreed upon.</p>
