§ 14. Mr. SwayneIf he will make a statement about the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice regarding third pillar issues. [12125]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonEuropean Court of Justice jurisdiction in the third pillar is conferred on a case-by-case basis in respect of certain conventions. When the Amsterdam treaty comes into force, the ECJ's jurisdiction within the third pillar will be extended, but will remain limited. [Interruption.]
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. What is happening on the Front Bench below the Gangway?
§ Mr. CanavanIt is not us.
§ Madam SpeakerI did not recognise you, Dennis.
§ Mr. CanavanThank you, Madam Speaker.
§ Mr. SwayneMay I refer the Minister to article F.2 of the European treaty on European Union and the decision 705 taken at Amsterdam to amend article L of the Maastricht treaty, which makes article F.2 fully justiciable by the European Court of Justice? Was it really Her Majesty's Government's intention that criminal law passed in this House would be subject to the jurisdiction of unelected judges in Brussels?
§ Mr. HendersonI know that the hon. Gentleman has spent a lot of time reading the Amsterdam treaty, but he has failed to understand that there are only limited extensions of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Asylum and immigration, on which Britain has a distinct policy on asylum and immigration—items which have been moved into pillar 1—are justiciable in other European Union countries. Pillar 3 contains minor adjustments to the previous position. The hon. Gentleman will know that, under the Maastricht treaty which the Conservatives signed when they were in government, the European Court of Justice has the capacity to become involved in the arbitration of conventions agreed under pillar 3.