THE RIGHT TO VOTE AS AN EU FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT AND THE EXPANDING SCOPE OF APPLICATION OF THE EU CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Kornezov
Keyword(s):  
European Parliament ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Council Decision ◽  
Universal Suffrage ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right

IS the right to vote in European Parliament elections a matter for EU law? Until recently, the answer to this query seemed to be a clear “no”. Indeed, while Article 223(1) of the TFEU does confer on the European Union the competence to lay down a uniform procedure for the election of Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”), this competence has not been exercised so far. Consequently, Article 8 of the Act concerning the election of the MEPs by direct universal suffrage, annexed to Council Decision 76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom (OJ 1976 L 278 p. 1, henceforth “the 1976 Act”), provides that the “electoral procedure shall be governed in each Member State by its national provisions”. Apart from the general principles of “direct universal suffrage in a free and secret ballot” and of non-discrimination on the ground of nationality, enshrined respectively in Article 14(3) of the TEU, Article 1(3) of the 1976 Act, and Article 20(2)(b) of the TFEU, there is nothing in EU law that governs specifically the eligibility to vote in EP elections.

Fundamental Rights, General Principles of EU Law, and the Charter

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 361-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takis Tridimas
Keyword(s):  
Personal Data ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
General Principles Of Law ◽  
Judicial Scrutiny ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe purpose of this chapter is to explore selected aspects of the relationship between the general principles of EU law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The chapter first looks at the expansion of fundamental rights in EU law and the importance of general principles by reference to three principles which have provided fruitful grounds for judicial activism: the right to judicial protection, the principle of non-discrimination, and the right to personal data. It then examines the sources of fundamental rights under Article 6 TEU and the relationship between Charter rights and general principles. Finally, it explores a pivotal issue in EU constitutional discourse, namely, the scope of application of the Charter and the general principles of law. The chapter concludes by observing that, far from declining in importance, the general principles of law continue to be an integral part of judicial methodology; that, following the introduction of the Charter, the CJEU applies a heightened level of judicial scrutiny; and that it favours a centralised approach opting for an autonomous interpretation of the Charter, granting it precedence over national constitutional norms, and understanding broadly its scope of application.

scholarly journals The right to paid annual leave as an EU fundamental social right. Comment on Bauer et al.: Joined Cases C-569/16 and C-570/16 Stadt Wuppertal v. Maria Elisabeth Bauer and Volker Willmeroth v. Martina Broßonn, EU:C:2018:871

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-448
Author(s):  
Maria Antonia Panascì
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Case Note ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Horizontal Direct Effect

This case note examines the judgment of Court of Justice of the European Union delivered in Joined Cases C-569/16 and C-570/16 Stadt Wuppertal v. Maria Elisabeth Bauer and Volker Willmeroth v. Martina Broßonn on 6 November 2018. It engages with the noteworthy aspects of the ruling, such as the horizontal direct effect of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter), the relationship between primary and secondary law in the European Union legal order and the scope of application of the Charter.

Judicial Review of Economic Policy: The EU Courts

2020 ◽  
pp. 204-244
Author(s):  
Menelaos Markakis
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Ripple Effect ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Eu

This chapter seeks to unpack access to EU courts in the area of EMU, the emphasis being on the challenges facing austerity-hit litigants wishing to put their substantive case before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The discussion will proceed as follows. First, it will be shown that aggrieved individuals might not always be able to locate a formally binding EU law measure which could form the basis of a direct or indirect challenge before the EU courts. Second, it will be seen that the judicial doors to an Article 263 TFEU challenge (action for annulment) are, nevertheless, firmly shut as most private persons will not be able to overcome the admissibility hurdles of direct and individual concern. Third, almost all Article 267 TFEU challenges (preliminary reference) have so far been declared inadmissible, which begs the question as to the legal quality of the bailout terms and its ripple effect on the scope of application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Fourth, though aggrieved individuals could in principle bring an Article 340 TFEU action for damages before the EU courts, litigants are likely to face an uphill struggle in trying to convince the CJEU that the relevant requirements for liability of the EU institutions for damages for breach of EU law were met. The final section of this chapter will focus on the scope of application of the EU Charter, which has formed the basis of many (unsuccessful, thus far) challenges to austerity measures.

scholarly journals Wolność prowadzenia działalności gospodarczej w świetle art. 16 Karty praw podstawowych — wybrane problemy

2018 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 499-510
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Horubski
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Freedom ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Business Activity ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
The Right ◽  
Legal Character

FREEDOM TO CONDUCT A BUSINESS IN THE LIGHT OF ARTICLE 16 OF THE CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION — SELECTED ISSUESThe article deals with the signifi cance and legal character of the provision of Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. This article provides for the freedom to conduct a business. Therefore, the article presents a standpoint regarding the qualifi cations of the right to conduct business within the framework of the division of provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights into principles and fundamental rights rights or freedoms. In the article’s considerations, the right to conduct business activity under art. 16 of the Charter is recognized as a fundamental right. The article also draws attention to the signifi cant deficiencies in the protection of economic freedom in EU law, in particular when it concerns the introduction of restrictions on this freedom in EU derivative law. Finally, comments are also made regarding the basic aspects of the subjective and objective scope of the right to conduct business.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violeta Moreno-Lax
Keyword(s):  
Global Scale ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Migration Management ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Integrated Interpretation ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Interpretation Model

This chapter presents the subject matter under scrutiny and provides a historical account of the development of extraterritorial strategies of migration management in Europe, coinciding with parallel changes in refugee movements and the composition of migratory flows on the global scale. The objective and research questions the study seeks to address are also introduced, together with a description of the methodology underpinning the research. In particular, the ‘cumulative standards’ or ‘integrated interpretation’ model employed to construe EU Charter of Fundamental Rights standards is canvassed. The concept of ‘jurisdiction’ and the alternative ‘Fransson paradigm’ applicable to interpret the scope of application of EU law is also briefly defined. The structure of the book is outlined at the end, providing an overview of the different chapters and their interrelation.

Within the Public-Private Divide. Right to Housing and Consumer Law in Recent European Private Law Trends

Global Jurist ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocco Alessio Albanese
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Private Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Consumer Law ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Right ◽  
Protection Of Right

Abstract This paper intends to discuss some major European legal issues by building on the critique of a certain narrow relevance of human basic needs, according to traditional Western legal conceptions of the subject as well as of the public-private divide. In particular it aims at verifying the potentiality of consumer law for rethinking the right to housing, within recent trends of European Private Law, by adopting a remedial approach. For this reason the paper analyzes three well-known cases decided by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) – namely Aziz, Sanchez Morcillo and Kušionová – as examples of this meaningful trend. Through the combination of the fairness test over contractual terms with the criteria of effectiveness and proportionality, a broader protection of right to housing is recognised even in horizontal private relationships. Art. 7 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFREU) could represent the constitutional reference for this new perspective. The paper also intends to show how the relevance of the basic need for housing is traced to debtor's families. CJEU's interpretative itinerary seems to start from a fairness test about contractual terms, but eventually comes to give protection to subjective situations that are even out of the domain of the contract.

scholarly journals eGovernment as an element of the right to good administration

2018 ◽  
Vol 331 ◽  
pp. 29-39
Author(s):  
Justyna Matusiak ◽  
Marcin Princ
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Law ◽  
Reasonable Time ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Right To Good Administration ◽  
Administrative Proceedings ◽  
The Right ◽  
Procedural Rights

The right to good administration constitutes an established principle of European Union law, which includes the procedural rights of stakeholders in administrative proceedings, the result of which may affect their interests. Article 41 of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights states that every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time by the institutions and bodies of the Union. When it comes to reasonable time of handling the case one can ask if eGovernment solutions are the guarantee of such a right. eGovernment understood as the use of all kinds of electronic means of communication, in particular, however, the Internet, improves services provided by the state to its citizens. The usage of IT technology in public administration allows it to perform its activities in a more efficient way. This improvement applies not only to the communication between parties but also to the quality of citizens’ life. To sum up, one can ask the question if the European right to good administration can be understood as the right to eGovernment solutions and if so, to what extent. Which services and technical solutions should be guaranteed as ones ensuring challenges of good administration?

Fundamental Rights Protection between Strasbourg and Luxembourg

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Ligeti
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
European Court ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Grand Chamber

Since long before the entry into force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFREU), the two highest courts in Europe, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) have sought to develop their respective jurisprudence in such a way as to ensure a strong protection of individual rights, whilst avoiding clashes between the decisions taken in Luxembourg and Strasbourg. An important statement in this regard is provided by the Bosphorus judgment, in which the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR recognised the existence of a presumption of equivalent protection of fundamental rights under EU law. The presumption is rebuttable, but expresses the trustful attitude (and a certain degree of deference) of Strasbourg towards the ability of EU law (and of the CJEU) to protect Convention rights.

Preamble

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Klamert ◽  
Manuel Kellerbauer ◽  
Jonathan Tomkin
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission solemnly proclaim the following text as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Living wages in international and European law

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reingard Zimmer
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Living Wage ◽  
Average Wage ◽  
European Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Living Wages ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
The Right

A number of countries worldwide provide for a statutory minimum wage. Generally speaking, however, it is not a living wage, although the right to a living wage is guaranteed in a variety of agreements under both international and European law. The Council of Europe’s European Social Charter (ESC), for example, codifies a living wage and, according to the case-law of its supervisory body, the level of 60 per cent of the net average wage is to be taken as the basis for appropriate remuneration. This article argues that the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union also incorporates the right to a living wage, which should be at least 60 per cent of the net average wage. The Charter is legally binding for EU institutions, agencies and other bodies. Member States are bound only to the extent that the material scope of the relevant EU laws has been opened, which is the case when EU law is implemented or when obligations arising out of specific Union legislation are required for the relevant subject area, as will be explained in the article. In purely national situations nevertheless, values laid down in international law have to be observed when interpreting national laws.

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