7th March 2016
CGHR Research Group Seminar
The European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights as a yardstick for the domestic law of the member states
Clara Rauchegger (Faculty of Law)
The human rights enshrined in the new European Union (EU) Charter of Fundamental Rights are not only binding on the EU itself, but also on its Member States when they implement EU law. In addition, every measure of the Member States is subject to human rights as protected by national constitutional law and the European Convention on Human Rights. The legal literature has devoted a lot of attention to the solution of conflicts between these fundamental rights catalogues. However, conflicts between EU and national human rights are extremely rare in practice. In the large majority of cases, they either co-exist or converge. This proposed paper will therefore offer a critical appraisal of the approach of the principal adjudicator of the Charter—the Court of Justice of the EU—to the co-existence and convergence of EU and national human rights. It will examine whether the interplay of these human rights catalogues ensures an effective protection of the rights of individuals.