scholarly journals THE CROATIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AND THE EU CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: A LIMBO BETWEN THE CHARTER, THE ECHR AND NATIONAL CONSTITUTION

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Majić
Keyword(s):  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Constitutional Review ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
National Constitution ◽  
The Eu

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union has been applied directly by the Croatian Constitutional Court since the decision No. U-I-1397/2015 (Act on Elections of the Representatives to the Croatian Parliament) rendered in 2015. Ever since it can be observed that the Charter has been consistently applied both in the proceedings of constitutional review in abstracto and in the proceedings initiated by a constitutional complaint (constitutional review in concreto), however, in a limited number of cases mostly concerning migrations or asylum.Therefore, this paper analyses the application of the Charter in the case law of the Croatian Constitutional Court and the method of interpretation pursued, with special reference to both its shortcomings and benefits. The paper also investigates the reasons for limited application of the Charter, even in those cases which would normally fall under the scope of application of EU law. The analysis indicates two distinct methodological approaches adopted by the Constitutional Court. The first one, where the Charter has been regarded as an interpretative tool only; and the second one, where the Charter has been found to be directly applicable vis-à-vis individual rights inferred from the EU law. The latter approach, first followed in an asylum case No. U-III-424/2019 (X. Y.), had raised new questions on interpretation of the Charter (with respect to the Croatian constitutional framework) in the cases where the Charter's applicability ratione materiae overlaps with the Croatian Constitution and the (European) Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which to the day, in contrast to the Charter, has been consistently followed and therefore legally internalised by the Croatian Constitutional Court. Therefore, the paper also elaborates a new methodological approach adopted by the Croatian Constitutional Court in finding a way out of „limbo“ between the Charter, the ECHR, and the Croatian Constitution.

9. Fundamental rights in the EU

2020 ◽  
pp. 240-268
Author(s):  
Sylvia de Mars
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
European Court ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Human Rights Act ◽  
The Eu

This chapter traces the development of EU law-based fundamental rights, from early Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case law up to the Charter of Fundamental Rights. It considers the EU's relationship with the Council of Europe, focusing on how the CJEU and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) attempt to avoid conflicting interpretations of overlapping rights, and whether the EU can in fact sign up to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It is important to remember that the ECtHR and the ECHR are not part of EU law. The ECHR is an international human rights treaty administered by the Council of Europe. It is applied and interpreted by the ECtHR, and is transcribed into UK law in the form of the Human Rights Act 1998. The EU, meanwhile, has the Charter of Fundamental Rights as its human rights ‘treaty’. The chapter then looks at the relationship between the CJEU and the ECtHR, and examines post-Brexit fundamental rights.

Foster on EU Law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Foster
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Free Movement ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Free Movement Of Persons ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

Foster on EU Law offers an account of the institutions and procedures of the EU legal system as well as focused analysis of key substantive areas, including free movement of goods; free movement of persons; citizenship; and competition law, including state aids. This clear structure provides a solid foundation in the mechanisms and applications of EU law. The book considers the supremacy of EU law in relation to ordinary domestic law, member state constitutional law, and international law, including UN Resolutions. It includes a consideration of EU law and Germany and France, as well as a briefer look at a number of other member states and contains discussion of human rights, in particular the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the moves of the EU to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights. The material on remedies in Chapter 6 has been rearranged to aid presentation and understanding. It follows the further developments of Art 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and has rearranged the material on the free movement of persons to take account of the judgments of the Court of Justice. The relationship between the UK and the EU and Brexit are dealt with in a new, dedicated chapter.

scholarly journals The Dialectics Between Constitutional Identity and Common Constitutional Traditions: Which Language for Cooperative Constitutionalism in Europe?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1097-1118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Fichera ◽  
Oreste Pollicino
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Binding Force ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
And Function ◽  
Role And Function ◽  
Constitutional Identity ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThis Article revisits the role and function of constitutional identity and common constitutional traditions and claims that the latter have had an increasingly stronger influence on the process of European integration—more than may appear at first sight. In addition, the relevance of common constitutional traditions has not been undermined but, on the contrary, strengthened by the emergence of fundamental rights in EU law and the subsequent conferral of binding force on the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Constitutional identity and common constitutional traditions are part of two discourses—security and fundamental rights—which are an expression of the security of the European project as an overarching frame characterizing the EU as a polity and legal system. After an overview of some of the most important rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union, this Article concludes by emphasizing the importance of the recent conciliatory attitude recently adopted by the Court of Justice, although the more ambivalent attitude of the Italian Constitutional Court indicates how conflictual features are becoming increasingly important and can no longer be concealed as the EU reaches a more advanced stage of integration.

scholarly journals Values and objectives of the EU in light of Opinion 1/17: ‘Trade for all’, above all

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Damjanovic ◽  
Nicolas de Sadeleer
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Court System ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Eu

In Opinion 1/17 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that the new Investment Court System (ICS) in the Canada–EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is compatible with the EU constitutional framework. This article examines the CJEU’s analysis of the ICS in its Opinion through the prism of EU values and objectives. Given the judicial nature of the ICS, the article unfolds around the concept of the rule of law. The scope and the content of this core EU value are considered under both EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In particular, the ICS is analysed in light of the two core rule-of-law requirements: equal treatment and the independence of courts, enshrined in Articles 20 and 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR). Importantly, in Opinion 1/17 the CJEU for the first time applied Article 47 CFR to a court outside the EU judicial system. While the CJEU ruled that the ICS complies with the CFR rule-of-law criteria, this article argues that it nevertheless falls short of the rule-of-law standards required for judicial bodies under EU law. The article demonstrates that the CJEU prioritises free and fair trade as the CETA’s core objective, rather than the rule of law, and endorses the ICS as the conditio sine qua non of guaranteeing such trade. The Court’s findings have wider consequences for the rule of law in international law as the EU continues to pursue the establishment of a Multilateral Investment Court (MIC).

9. Fundamental rights in the European Union

2020 ◽  
pp. 243-282
Author(s):  
Eleanor Spaventa
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
European Convention ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
European Court ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines fundamental rights in the EU. It begins by analysing the historical background and the development of the case law on fundamental rights. It then examines the main Treaty provisions relating to fundamental rights protection, before turning to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. Finally, it looks at the relationship between the EU and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), including the extent to which the European Court of Human Rights agrees to scrutinize EU acts. It also considers the plan for the EU to accede to the ECHR.

The Road not Taken: The European Union as a Global Human Rights Actor

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 649-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gráinne de Búrca
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Road ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Face ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
The Eu

For many, the enactment of the European Union’s Treaty of Lisbon, with its range of significant human rights provisions, marks the EU’s coming of age as a human rights actor. The Lisbon Treaty inaugurated the legally binding character of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU Charter), enshrined a commitment to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and, in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), identified human rights as a foundational value. These changes have already drawn comment as developments that “will change the face of the Union fundamentally,” that take the protection of rights in the EU “to a new level,” and that indicate that “the arguments for improving the status of human rights in EU law… have finally been heard. There is general agreement, in other words, that the EU has reached the high point of its engagement with human rights.

scholarly journals Human rights in the European Union constitution

2006 ◽  
Vol 58 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 104-127
Author(s):  
Maja Nastic
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Court ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Legal Document ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

The paper deals with the innovations the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe brings into the field of human rights. One of them is incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights into the very Constitution. In this way, a political declaration adopted in Nice has become a legal document, achieving also constituionalisation of fundamental rights at the Union level. Secondly, there is an explicit possibility for the EU to accede the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Within that context the author considers the relationship between the Charter of Human Rights and the European Convention, as well as the relationship between the two courts: the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice.

Twenty years later: Application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as an Anthropocentric and Innovative Document

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (129) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Angelo VIGLIANISI FERRARO ◽  
Goran Ilik
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Fundamental Rights And Freedoms ◽  
The Guardian ◽  
The Eu

The paper analyzes the legal content and scope of the norms of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and their meaning and application as a para-constitutional document of anthropocentric and innovative nature in the last twenty years. Special attention is paid to the place and role of the CJEU as a judicial body in charge of implementing and harmonizing EU law. The article also deals with the possibility of direct application of the norms of the Charter, both vertically and horizontally. In addition, the paper cites the CJEU case law to confirm the thesis that it must undertake a moral and legal obligation in order to impose itself not only as a creator of legal doctrines but also as the guardian of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the EU.

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 Supremacía de la constitución versus primacía del derecho de la UE en materia derechos fundamentales: concordancias y discordancias entre el tribunal constitucional y el tribunal de justicia de la UE en el asunto Melloni

2017 ◽  
pp. 637
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Donaire Villa
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
National Level ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Law ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Arrest Warrant ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
The Eu

Se analiza en este artículo el primer diálogo judicial directo entre el TC español y el Tribunal de Justicia de la UE, sobre la Euroorden y la interpretación del artículo 53 de la Carta de los Derechos Fundamentales de la UE cuando el nivel nacional de protección de los derechos es superior al dispensado por una norma de Derecho derivado de la Unión. Se ponen de manifiesto las posibles tensiones entre supremacía constitucional y primacía del Derecho de la Unión Europea, y la evocación por el Tribunal Constitucional de su doctrina de los derechos constitucionalmente reconocidos como límites a la integración en la Sentencia que cierra el diálogo con el Tribunal de Justicia en el Asunto Melloni.This paper surveys the first direct judicial dialogue between the Spanish Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union on the European Arrest Warrant and the interpretation of Article 53 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU when the national level of protection of rights is higher than that provided by a rule of secondary legislation of the Union. It highlights the possible tensions between constitutional supremacy and primacy of European Union law, and the evocation made by the Constitutional Court of its doctrine on rights constitutionally recognized as limits to the European integration contained in the judgment which closes the dialogue between both Courts within the so-called Melloni case.

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