The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Member States

Abstract

Human rights law in the EU has always reflected deep ambiguities and tensions between the Union as a whole and the several Member States. This article considers how the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights reflects and replicates that relationship. The Charter mediates the dispute between whole and parts of the EU through the language of human rights law. This is shown to be evident in the Charter's careful attempts to respect the existing balance between the EU and the separate constitutional orders of the Member States. The article argues that every effort should be made to understand and use the Charter in ways that preserve the creative interaction of both supranational and national legal orders that is a uniquely valuable aspect of the European Union's human rights construct.

Keywords: European Union, Chater of Fundamental Rights, EU Member States, human rights