Ward, Angela --- "Remedies under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights" [2017] ELECD 971; in Douglas-Scott, Sionaidh; Hatzis, Nicholas (eds), "Research Handbook on EU Law and Human Rights" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 162

Book Title: Research Handbook on EU Law and Human Rights

Editor(s): Douglas-Scott, Sionaidh; Hatzis, Nicholas

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781782546399

Section: Chapter 7

Section Title: Remedies under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

Author(s): Ward, Angela

Number of pages: 24

Abstract/Description:

The Charter of Fundamental Rights features no special remedial regime for enforcing the substantive rights that it seeks to protect. This is reflected in Article 6(1) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which provides that the Charter shall have ‘the same legal values as the Treaties’. It is further underscored by the Charter Article 47(1), which restates the general principle that rights and freedoms guaranteed by the law of the Union shall, in the event of their breach, be enforceable by ‘an effective remedy before a tribunal’ but adds nothing specifically aimed at fundamental rights. As a consequence, the sanctions and procedures to enforce the Charter are the same as those available in other areas of EU law. This means that the strengths and weaknesses of the established regime for the judicial enforcement of EU rules are equally applicable to it. Although the Charter is legally binding, it does not necessarily follow that the EU has suddenly become a ‘human rights organisation’. There are several general features of the Charter that must be borne in mind before a clear understanding can be reached of the ways and means of securing a sanction to enforce it.