This insightful and timely book provides a comparative assessment of selected legal issues emerging from the EU legal context which impact profoundly on the national legal systems. It argues that judicial interaction can answer complex legal questions relating to the implementation of the EU Charter.

This book provides an analysis of key approaches to rule of law oversight in the EU and identifies deeper theoretical problems.

Ten years after the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union became part of binding primary law, and twenty years since its adoption, this volume assess the application of the EU Charter in the Member States. How often, and in particular by which actors, is the EU Charter invoked at the national level? In what type of situations is it used? Has the approach of national courts in general, and of constitutional courts in particular, to EU law to EU fundamental rights law changed following the entry into force of the Charter? What sort of interplay does the Charter generate with the national bill of rights and the European Convention? Is the life with the Charter on the national level a harmonious 'praktische Konkordanz' or rather a messy 'ménage à trois'? These and other questions are discussed in the four parts that form the book. Part I is dedicated to the normative foundations. Part II sets out Member States' Perspectives, providing a structured, in-depth account of the Charter's operation in 16 different Member States. Part III provides a detailed evaluation of selected rights contained within the Charter. Part IV synthesises the materials presented up to that point to develop a series of broader perspectives, looking to discover underlying lessons about the relationship between EU fundamental rights law and national legal systems.

The ever increasing relevance of European law which involves replacement or supplementation of and interaction with national law not only affects the states in Europe but also, and foremost, the citizens. The rights of the citizens in Europe are protected by the European Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. The aim of this textbook is to grasp and illustrate the meaning of these rights and to integrate it into a coherent system. For this purpose the book not only deals with the pertinent law of the European Union and the European Community, but also with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which, too, is becoming more and more important. In addition, regard is had to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Union which forms part of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. Although the Charter is not yet legally binding since the Constitution has not been ratified by all EU Member States, the Community Courts already make reference to it as a concentrate of the constitutional traditions common to the Member States. It therefore does not seem entirely unlikely that the Charter might be included into the existing Treaties irrespective of the future constitutional developments on the EU level. On a similar anticipatory basis the book also takes into account those Protocols to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms that have not yet entered into force.

The remarkable volume collects essays and studies on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and its application. Its aim is to offer a series of contributions, made by distinguished scholars and legal experts, on the Charter considered as a living legal instrument, with a view to understanding whether, five years after its entry into force and fifteen years after its first proclamation, it is being taken seriously, and whether its use and effective impact within the legal orders and practice of the European Union and Member States can realistically improve in the coming years.The contributions are structured and organized around three main themes, “The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights as a Legal Instrument: General Issues”, “The Charter and Social Rights”, and “Assessing the Legal Impact of the Charter at the National Level”. Scholars and experts participating in the book have conducted, under the supervision of its editor, extensive and in-depth analysis on the many issues raised by each of these themes. The result is a fascinating and varied collection of essays that combines high academic quality with great practical usefulness.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union enshrines the key political, social and economic rights of EU citizens and residents in EU law. In its present form it was approved in 2000 by the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission. However its legal status remained uncertain until the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in December 2009. The Charter obliges the EU to act and legislate consistently with the Charter, and enables the EU's courts to strike down EU legislation which contravenes it. The Charter applies to EU Member States when they are implementing EU law but does not extend the competences of the EU beyond the competences given to it in the treaties. This Commentary on the Charter, the first in English, written by experts from several EU Member States, provides an authoritative but succinct statement of how the Charter impacts upon EU, domestic and international law. Following the conventional article-by-article approach, each commentator offers an expert view of how each article is either already being interpreted in the courts, or is likely to be interpreted. Each commentary is referenced to the case law and is augmented with extensive references to further reading. Six cross-cutting introductory chapters explain the Charter's institutional anchorage, its relationship to the Fundamental Rights Agency, its interaction with other parts of international human rights law, the enforcement mechanisms, extraterritorial scope, and the all-important 'Explanations'.

A collection of essays by distinguished legal scholars that explores from legal, historical and theoretical perspectives how the Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the European Union has affected, and is likely to impact on the development of, contract law and commercial law within the European Union.