EU CHARACTER OF RIGHTS

EU Character of Rights



EU Character of Rights

Introduction

Apart from the English Parliament and common law, there are other major sources of legal rule-making that impact on English domestic law. These are the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and European Union (EU) law. In comparison with parliamentary legislation and common law, these sources are a recent development. In fact, both the ECHR and EU are just over 50 years old, having emerged as sources of legal rulemaking in the mid-twentieth century. This makes them relatively developmental when compared to the other sources of English law. Both these sources of European law emerged as a response to the events and aftermath of the Second World War in Europe and we will consider these influences as we look briefly at the history and development of the ECHR and EU.

Discussion

The European Court of Justice

The role of the European Court of Justice is to ensure that EC legislation is interpreted and applied consistently in each EU member state. It has the power to settle disputes and impose sanctions. It may also be asked to clarify the meaning of an EU law. Cases may be brought by EU member states, EU institutions, businesses or individuals. The membership of the court has expanded with the growth of the EU itself. The ECJ is composed of one judge for each EU member state. There is no system of precedent and judgments of the ECJ are decided by majority. Dissenting opinions are not given. The main sources of EU law are EU primary legislation, represented by the treaties, secondary legislation of EU, in the form of regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions and rulings on cases brought before the European Court of Justice. EU law is created by the legislative powers with which the EU member states have invested the EU institutions. The law created by EU institutions is also binding on all EU member states (Article 10 EC) who must: 'take all appropriate measures, whether general or particular, to ensure fulfilment of the obligations arising out of this Treaty.

EU Primary Legislation

We have learnt that the different stages in the development of the EU have been marked by the adoption of intergovernmental documents called 'treaties'. These are the first source of EU law and contain the founding legal acts. They contain the basic provisions and the majority of EU economic law. The treaties also create the decision- and legal rule-making powers of the EU institutions.

EU Secondary Legislation

Law made by the EU institutions in exercise the powers confer on them by the treaty is referred to as resultant legislation. This legislation includes: Regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations, and opinions. Another EU institution often required to contribute to the EU law-making process is the European Court of Justice. This has two main functions: it is responsible for directly applying the EU law in certain types of cases and it has general responsibility for interpreting the provisions of EU law and ensuring that the application of the law is consistent ...