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Protecting Human Rights in the EU pp 5–19Cite as

EU Charter: Its Nature, Innovative Character, and Horizontal Effect

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Abstract

The European Union, moving towards citizen’s Europe, cannot avoid responsibility for guaranteeing basic rights for those who are contributing to the internal market. Complicated history of protecting human rights within the EU has, at least, reached the next level—Charter of Fundamental Rights. There are certain prerequisites explaining the existing Charter, societal need, and rule of law from one side and federalist ambition from the other side. CJEU case law marked important milestones before drafting the Charter and now, after the adoption of the Charter, helps to ascertain the somewhat controversial and complex nature and content of that remarkable legal text. Several authors, critical or not, call the Charter “innovative” and “intricate” because of its manifold content and character. There are still interpretations that can be differentiated; there are still approaches and doctrines that try to frame the future of the Charter by different methods. The contribution makes reference to the Charter’s best practice (or, at this stage, theory) at several member states of the EU, particularly at Estonia.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Kerikmäe and Käsper (2008).

  2. 2.

    Ibid.

  3. 3.

    Bellamy and Schonlau (2012).

  4. 4.

    See ECJ Case Mangold v. Helm (2005) C-144/04.

  5. 5.

    Eriksson (2009), p. 736.

  6. 6.

    See Kerikmäe and Nyman-Metcalf (2012b).

  7. 7.

    A reference to the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was inserted into EU law by Article 6(2) of Treaty of European Union (Maastricht Treaty) adopted in 1992, according to which the “Union shall respect fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms signed in Rome on 4 November 1950 and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, as general principles of Community law”.

  8. 8.

    See ECJ Case Eugen Schmidberger, Internationale Transporte und Planzüge v Republik Österreich (2003) C-112/00.

  9. 9.

    Kerikmäe and Käsper (2008).

  10. 10.

    Schermers (2001), p. 8.

  11. 11.

    Report of the Expert Group on Fundamental Rights, the European Commission. Affirming Fundamental Rights in the European Union: Time to Act. Brussels, February, 1999.

  12. 12.

    For example, the Estonian Supreme Court has stated in its decision on 17 February 2003 in Case No. 3-4-1-1-03 that the Charter is not legally binding but reflects certain principles of law that are common to all EU Member States; RTIII (7 March 2003) 5, p. 48.

  13. 13.

    See Kerikmäe and Käsper (2008).

  14. 14.

    Kerikmäe and Nyman-Metcalf (2012a).

  15. 15.

    Blackstock (2012), April 17. http://eutopialaw.com/2012/04/17/the-eu-charter-of-fundamental-rights-scope-and-competance/.

  16. 16.

    Blackstock (2012).

  17. 17.

    See Groussot et al. (2011), http://www.ericsteinpapers.eu/papers/2011-1.

  18. 18.

    See De Sousa, http://www.academia.edu/2167103/Horizontal_Expressions_of_Vertical_Desires_-_Horizontal_Effect_and_the_Scope_of_the_EU_Fundamental_Freedoms.

  19. 19.

    This part of the chapter is inspired by the last FIDE Congress in Tallinn. See Kerikmäe et al. (2012).

  20. 20.

    Besselink (2012), p. 17.

  21. 21.

    Tzevelekos (2010).

  22. 22.

    Ibid.

  23. 23.

    Besselink (2012), p. 18.

  24. 24.

    See Groussot et al. (2011), p. 2.

  25. 25.

    See pending Joined Cases C-411/10 and C-193/10 N.S. and Opinion of AG Trstenjak delivered on 22 September 2011.

  26. 26.

    See Besselink (2012), p. 18.

  27. 27.

    Alexy (2010).

  28. 28.

    Ibid.

  29. 29.

    See also Kerikmäe (2010).

  30. 30.

    See Schor (2010) and Ferreres Comella (2009), p. 238.

  31. 31.

    Kokott (2010).

  32. 32.

    Besselink (2012), p. 19.

  33. 33.

    Van den Berghe (2010).

  34. 34.

    De Witte (2009).

  35. 35.

    See Kull (2007), http://www.juridicainternational.eu/unfair-contracts-of-suretyship-a-question-about-the-horizontal-effect-of-fundamental-rights-or-about-the-application-of-contract-law-principles.

  36. 36.

    Krzeminska-Vamvaka (2009), http://centers.law.nyu.edu/jeanmonnet/papers/09/091101.pdf.

  37. 37.

    See Eurofound; the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions is a European Union body. http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/industrialrelations/dictionary/definitions/horizontaldirecteffect.htm.

  38. 38.

    See The EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights, Commentary of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, p. 45. http://llet-131-198.uab.es/catedra/images/experts/COMMENTARY%20OF%20THE%20CHARTER.pdf.

  39. 39.

    De Sousa, p. 3.

  40. 40.

    By request of Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu), the Government composed a special commission of constitutional expertise (members: Uno Lõhmus, Kalle Merusk, Heiki Pisuke, Jüri Raidla, Märt Rask, Heinrich Schneider, Eerik-Juhan Truuväli, Henn-Jüri Uibopuu, Paul Varul). There were several experts included in the discussions, also the undersigned of the current report, Tanel Kerikmäe. http://www.just.ee/10725 (section 3).

  41. 41.

    Eesti Vabariigi Põhiseadus. Kommenteeritud väljaanne. Juura. Tallinn 2008, para 19.

  42. 42.

    Maruste (2004), p. 305.

  43. 43.

    Brems (2005), p. 301.

  44. 44.

    See Kanger (2007), http://www.riigikohus.ee/vfs/776/Analyys%20EL%20oiguse%20kohaldamine%20HK%20praktikas%20%28L_Kanger%29.pdf.

  45. 45.

    See Lõhmus (2007).

  46. 46.

    Ibid.

  47. 47.

    Alexy (2010).

  48. 48.

    See Kull (2007), http://www.juridicainternational.eu/unfair-contracts-of-suretyship-a-question-about-the-horizontal-effect-of-fundamental-rights-or-about-the-application-of-contract-law-principles.

  49. 49.

    See Wiesbrock Development Case Note, ECJ Case Seda Kücükdeveci V Swedex GmbH & Co. KG., Judgment of the Court (2010) C-555/07.

  50. 50.

    Schor (2010), p. 238.

  51. 51.

    Krzeminska-Vamvaka (2009), http://centers.law.nyu.edu/jeanmonnet/papers/09/091101.pdf.

  52. 52.

    See Šipilov (2010) “Põhiõiguste kolmikmõju ja Euroopa Liidu õiguse horisontaalne kohaldatavus. Master thesis awarded by Estonian Ministry of Justice as the best research paper of 2010. http://www.just.ee/52952.

  53. 53.

    Conclusion is inspired by Kerikmäe and Käsper (2008).

  54. 54.

    See Fossum (2004), http://www.arena.uio.no/cidel/Reports/Albarracin_Ch2.pdf.

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Case Law

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  1. Tallinn Law School, Tallinn University of Technology, Akadeemia tee 3, 12618, Tallinn, Estonia

    Tanel Kerikmäe

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  1. Tallinn Law School, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia

    Tanel Kerikmäe

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Kerikmäe, T. (2014). EU Charter: Its Nature, Innovative Character, and Horizontal Effect. In: Kerikmäe, T. (eds) Protecting Human Rights in the EU. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38902-3_2

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