Samenvatting/summary Fundamental rights in the EU - in English, incl. lectures and case-law
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Course
Fundamental rights in the EU (JUR3FUNDRIGHTS)
Institution
Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (RU)
[English below]
Summary of the course Fundamental rights in Europe. (Exam grade: 10). Includes all lecture notes, a comprehensive overview of the mandatory case law, answers to the questions from the lectures and, where possible, useful roadmaps. So a complete and clear overview of all the materi...
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Overview of the cases.............................................................................................................................2
Lecture 1 – Developments and challenges.............................................................................................3
Lecture 2 – The EU system of fundamental rights protection.................................................................5
Questions lecture 2...........................................................................................................................11
Lecture 3 – The ECHR system of human rights protection....................................................................12
Questions lecture 3...........................................................................................................................18
Lecture 4 – General principles of fundamental rights I.........................................................................20
Application, interpretation, horizontal effect and state obligations..................................................20
Questions lecture 4...........................................................................................................................25
Lecture 5 – General principles of fundamental rights II........................................................................27
Limitations, proportionality and the margin of appreciation............................................................27
Questions lecture 5...........................................................................................................................34
Recap: roadmap of fundamental rights cases.......................................................................................36
Lecture 6 – The right to life, the prohibition of torture and positive obligations..................................38
Questions lecture 6...........................................................................................................................46
Lecture 7 – Private life and data protection..........................................................................................47
Questions lecture 7...........................................................................................................................54
Lecture 8 – Freedom of religion and freedom of expression................................................................55
Questions lecture 8...........................................................................................................................63
Lecture 9 – Non-discrimination............................................................................................................64
Questions lecture 9...........................................................................................................................70
Lecture 10 – The enforcement of human rights in Europe...................................................................71
Questions lecture 10.........................................................................................................................76
1
,Overview of the cases
- CJEU Akerberg Fransson (week 2)
- ECtHR Al-Saadoon and Mufdhi (week 4 and 6)
- ECtHR Animal Defenders International (week 5)
- ECtHR Barbulescu (week 4 and 7)
- ECtHR Bosphorus (week 3)
- CJEU Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie (week 5 and 8)
- ECtHR Centre for Legal Resources (week 3)
- CJEU CHEZ Razpredelenie Bulgaria (week 9)
- CJEU DEB (week 4)
- ECtHR D.H. and others (week 9)
- CJEU Digital Rights Ireland (week 2, 5 and 7)
- ECtHR Eweida and others (week 8)
- CJEU G4S (week 8 and 9)
- CJEU Google Spain (week 7)
- ECtHR Gough (week 8)
- ECtHR Kavala (week 10)
- ECtHR Kiyutin (week 9)
- ECtHR Lambert (week 6)
- CJEU Melloni (week 2)
- ECtHR Moraru and Marin (week 9)
- ECtHR M.S.S. (week 3 and 6)
- CJEU N.S. (week 2 and 6)
- CJEU Pfleger (week 2)
- ECtHR Sanchez (week 5 and 8)
- CJEU Schrems II (week 7)
- CJEU Sky Österreich (week 5)
- ECtHR Tagayeva (week 6)
- ECtHR Vavricka and Others (week 5 and 7)
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,Lecture 1 – Developments and challenges
Development of fundamental rights protection
A short overview of human rights development:
- Aristotle was one of the first to mention a fundamental right: the right to equal treatment, by
stating that like cases are to be treated in a like manner.
- The Magna Carta (1215) limited the power of the English King, by protecting the right to
hideous corpus (the right to see a judge) and other rights.
- The Declaration of independence 1776 and Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens in
France contained fundamental rights and were the first human rights declarations.
- World War II led to some new international treaties protecting human rights, as it was con-
cluded states could not be trusted to protect these by themselves. The first human rights de -
claration was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). This declaration contained
civil, political, social and economic rights. It is non-binding and mostly addressed the univer-
sal and indivisible character of fundamental rights.
- The human rights protection further developed through treaties by the UN and regional
treaties and courts, like the Council of Europe and the African Charter on HR.
System of human rights protection
There are two main systems that provide human rights protection in Europe, the EU and the Council
of Europe.
The European Union (EU)
The EU started as the European Coal and Steel Community and developed into the European Eco-
nomic Community (EEC, 1957).
The EU now has a Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR) which has the same legal value as the Treat-
ies art. 6(1) TEU.
Council of Europe (CoE)
The CoE is a union for the promotion of human rights. It constituted many treaties, such as the
European Social Charter (1961), the European Convention on the Prevention of Torture (2002) and
many other treaties, as well as commissions.
The most important institution of the CoE is the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which op -
erates on the basis of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
In short:
Council of Europe EU
46 states 27 states
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU)
European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) Charter on Fundamental Rights (CFR)
Strasbourg Luxembourg
Challenges to human rights protection
Direct challenges to the human rights protection are, i.e.:
- Iliberal democracies: these are democracies that are not liberal and reverse human rights
protection if it does not fit the non-liberal ideology;
3
, - Climate change: there is no right to a healthy environment as such, but the consequences of
climate change are protected by other rights.
- Racism: there is still a lot of discrimination by many big institutions, which makes it harder to
provide efficient human rights protection.
Conceptual challenges
There always has to be a balance between providing effective human rights protection and respecting
the national identities of states and the subsidiary role of the HR institutions.
There are many different views on e.g. same-sex-marriages and abortion within the EU, the
European Courts have to give an opinion on these matters, while respecting autonomy of the
member states.
National identities
Art. 4(2) TEU: The EU shall respect national identities of Member States.
Preamble CFR: Human rights protection while respecting the diversity of cultures and traditions as
well as the national identities of Member States.
Subsidiarity principle
ECHR preamble: states bear the primary responsibility to secure the rights in the ECHR, in accordance
with the subsidiarity principle.
Art. 5(3) TEU: the EU only acts in so far as the objectives of the action cannot be sufficiently achieved
by Member States.
Effectiveness
ECtHR Soering v. UK: The object and purpose of the Convention as an instrument for the protection of
individual human beings require that its provisions be interpreted and applies so as to make its safe-
guards practical and effective.
Art. 2 jo. 3 TEU: The EU is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy,
equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights. The Union’s aim is to promote its values.
Hierarchy and supremacy
CJEU: EU law is superior to national law (CJEU Simmenthal).
CJEU Akerberg Fransson: if a provision of national law is in violation of EU law or case-law, EU
law precludes national courts to disapply the national provisions.
If there are doubts about the compatibility of national law with EU law, a national court can
refer questions to the CJEU, which then has the final say. CJEU interpretations are binding on
national authorities.
The ECtHR has no direct effect in national systems. Based on case-law, national legislators make new
legislation. There is a system of harmonious interpretation by domestic court, which use the Conven-
tion as well as the case law of the ECtHR.
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