Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
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The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is a document containing human rights provisions, 'solemnly proclaimed' by the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission in December 2000.
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[edit] Origin
The European Court of Justice decided in 1996 that the treaties establishing the European Community do not empower it to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights, this despite all EC/EU member states being signatories to the Convention (Opinion 2/94 "Accession by the Community to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms" of 28 March 1996). After this, the aforementioned three institutions of the European Union (Council, Commission, and Parliament) decided that the Charter is the appropriate format (for the moment) of presenting the fundamental principles of human rights for the Union.
[edit] Status
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As it stands, the Charter is not a treaty, constitutional, or legal document, and has the ambiguous value of a 'solemn proclamation' by three of the Union's most important institutions. Its text is mainly in harmony with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, and therefore can be taken as a confirmation (by the Council, Commission, and Parliament) of the pre-existing rights contained therein, while adding widely-accepted principles such as the 'right' to good administration, workers' social rights, and bioethics. The Charter's 'power' or 'effect', if it has any, may be only these:
- The proclaiming institutions (and other institutions such as the European Court of Justice) are not going to contradict the Charter, since they have 'solemnly proclaimed' it.
- Common law, Community law, and case law are generally in harmony with it, so there is little probability of conflict.
It does not have the status of Community law. Therefore, cases cannot be brought solely on the ground of a contradiction against the Charter.
[edit] As part of the proposed Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe
Part II of the proposed European Constitution, which was signed in October 2004 but which failed to be ratified after referendum defeats in France and the Netherlands, contained a version of the Charter. The intention was to enable the European Union to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights, thus enabling the European Court of Justice to rule on the basis of this Charter.
[edit] Notable provisions
The Charter is organized into 6 titles: dignity, freedoms, equality, solidarity, citizens' rights, and justice. The second, third, and fourth rubrics reflect the three generations of human rights after Karel Vasak.
- (Article 3) Prohibition of reproductive cloning of human beings
- (Article 53) 'Nothing in this Charter shall be interpreted as restricting or adversely affecting human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognised, in their respective fields of application, by Union law and international law and by international agreements to which the Union, the Community or all the Member States are party, including the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and by the Member States' constitutions.'
