Forum Shopping between Luxembourg and Strasbourg?

Abstract

On the 5th and 6th of May the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held a full Court hearing in Luxembourg concerning the agreement on the accession of the European Union (EU) to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). All 28 EU member states and all three EU institutions involved (Commission, Parliament and Council) pleaded to declare the agreement to be in conformity with the EU Treaties. However, some judges pointed to Protocol No 16 and worried about a potential “forum shopping“ between Luxembourg and Strasbourg which could endanger the autonomy of the EU legal order. This short article examines the impacts of Protocol No 16 and potential limits for its use under EU law.

Keywords: Accession; EU; ECHR; ECJ; ECtHR; Luxembourg; Strasbourg; forum shopping