Cartabia, Marta; Ninatti, Stefania --- "Fundamental rights in the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights" [2017] ELECD 973; in Douglas-Scott, Sionaidh; Hatzis, Nicholas (eds), "Research Handbook on EU Law and Human Rights" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 211

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 9

Section Title: Fundamental rights in the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights

Author(s): Cartabia, Marta; Ninatti, Stefania

Number of pages: 15

Abstract/Description:

If one could set up a defined hallmark for the protection of fundamental rights in the European legal landscape, the tension between imposing uniformity and recognising a certain degree of diversity would immediately stand out. After all, this relationship defines the meaning of fundamental rights, with their aspiration for universality within a composed system of different and widely accepted polities. Human rights have a universal dimension as well as a historical dimension, and they both reflect the deepest tradition and consciousness of each people. Moreover, these qualities are rooted in the value of the dignity of the person, while the idea of human rights per se strikes a universal dimension. Furthermore they are entrenched in the specific moral, religious, linguistic and political characteristics of each people and the concrete application of these rights is carried out under the flag of particularity and pluralism. In Europe, this ambivalence is intensified by the very nature of the political construction ‘united in diversity’, where unification and respect for (national) identities is one of its essential features. The European continent has thus far developed a fascinating context from which to reconsider rights talk: national constitutional courts are now embedded in a constitutional fabric made of national constitutions, European Union (EU) law, European treaties and conventions. One can start recognising the first traits of the peculiar design involved in this space of constitutional interdependence, not necessarily connected through formal procedures, but also in an informal, flexible and implicit manner, by means of a thorough interpretation and legal reasoning.