The European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights Two Years Later

Abstract:     
After the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights has found a place among the formal sources of EU law, and has become a standard of review for the validity of EU acts. This article aims to analyze whether this momentous change is reflected in the judgments of the Court of Justice, and more precisely how the Luxembourg judges are dealing with this source. From an analysis of the cases, it emerges that there still are some uncertain issues, such as the extent of the competences of the EU, the paradigmatic function of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, the possibility to bypass the limits of the European Convention’s direct effect through the application of the Charter’s equivalent rights.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 26

Keywords: European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, Court of Justice of the European Union, Fundamental Rights, Competences of the European Union

Accepted Paper Series