Protection Of Fundamental Rights In Europe

This book examines the European system for the protection of fundamental rights. The aim is to identify the constitutional dynamics that occur as a result of the interaction between state and transnational human rights standards. Fabbrini compares the European system with the US federal system based on four case studies.

The first book to examine the creation and function of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency.

This insightful book analyses the role that EU general principles have taken in the protection of fundamental rights within the EU since the Lisbon Treaty. In particular, the author focuses on the relationship between written law (the Charter of Fundamental Rights) and unwritten law (the general principles) within the institutional framework of the EU. The book demonstrates that due to their complementary and autonomous function toward the protection of fundamental rights, the general principles still play a key role within the Union despite the binding force of the Charter.

This is a concise and accessible introduction to fundamental rights in Europe from the perspectives of history, theory and an analysis of European jurisprudence. Key features include: • A combination of historical and philosophical approaches with analysis of significant legal cases • A multidisciplinary outlook, in contrast to the strict legal approach of most textbooks on the subject • A European perspective which refers throughout to central European values such as freedom, equality, solidarity and dignity

The book gives insight into the structures and developments of the fundamental rights protection in Europe which is effective at the levels of the national Constitutions, the European Convention of Human Rights and, for the EU member States of the EU Fundamental Rights Charter. The contributions of renowned academics from various European countries demonstrate the functional interconnection of these protection systems which result in an increasing convergence. Basic questions are reflected, such as human dignity as foundation of fundamental rights or positive action as a specific form of equality as well as the concept of rights convergence. In this latter contribution the forms of direct reception of a different legal order and of the functional transfer of principles and concepts are analyzed. Particular reference is made to the EU Charter, the United Kingdom Human Rights Act as well as to France and Germany. It becomes obvious how important interpretation is for the harmonization of national and conventional fundamental rights protection. Traditional institutional approaches like the dualist transformation concept in Germany are functionally set aside in the harmonization process through constitutional interpretation. Specific studies are dedicated to the field of the EU Fundamental Rights Charter and to the European impacts on the national fundamental rights protection in selected countries such as the “new democracies” Poland, Romania and Kosovo as well as more traditional systems such as Spain, Italy, the Nordic countries or Turkey.

The rapid development of information technology has exacerbated the need for robust personal data protection, the right to which is safeguarded by both European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE) instruments. Safeguarding this important right entails new and significant challenges as technological advances expand the frontiers of areas such as surveillance, communication interception and data storage. This handbook is designed to familiarise legal practitioners not specialised in data protection with this emerging area of the law. It provides an overview of the EU’s and the CoE’s applicable legal frameworks. It also explains key case law, summarising major rulings of both the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, it presents hypothetical scenarios that serve as practical illustrations of the diverse issues encountered in this ever-evolving field.

This monograph offers a longitudinal analysis of the developments in the European fundamental rights arena during the last decade. Decisions of critical importance on the future of the EU need to be taken by the EU institutions and the Member States' governments. The ‘existential’ crisis affecting Europe is essentially a crisis of values revealing a lack of shared vision. Based on this premise, this monograph contributes to the debate on how to overcome the current impasse. By situating the analysis of the EU in the context of a wider Europe, which includes the ECHR (and its interpretation by the ECtHR), this work challenges the idea that the project of European integration should be abandoned. Instead it proposes a re-orientation of this process, conceptualised as a dynamic interaction of different actors, sources and laws on fundamental rights within the wider Europe. Following an evaluation of the current fundamental rights’ regimes, the monograph proposes a model of effective governance of fundamental rights in Europe based on the doctrines of dialogical constitutionalism and agency. This original and innovative contribution is enriched by findings from British Academy funded research on the European architecture of fundamental rights post-Lisbon Treaty.

Human rights are much talked about and much written about, in academic legal literature as well as in political and other social sciences and the general political debate. This book argues that the universality of basic human rights is one of the values of the concept of rights. It points out the risk of a certain “inflation” caused by the current habit of talking so much and so often about human rights and of using them as a basis for claims of various kinds. These rights, their understanding and interpretation may need to become more “purist” to ensure that universal human rights as a concept survive. Another chapter concentrates on the analysis of the frames of “EU protected human rights” from the perspective of effective implementation. Further, the book not only deals with the complicated relations between the EU and international law, but also seeks to show the horizontal effect. To that end, the fears and hopes of the member states and interest groups are categorized and commented on. Lastly, the gaps in theory and practice are addressed, current trends related to implementation are pointed out, and suggestions are made concerning how to make the best out of the Charter.