#49 The Court of Justice of the European Union as a Fundamental Rights Tribunal Challenges for the Effective Delivery of Fundamental Rights in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice - Carrera, Sergio; De Somer, Marie; Petkova, Bilyana (CEPS Centre for European Policy Studies, 2012)
This paper reflects on the challenges facing the effective implementation of the new EU fundamental right sarchitecture that emerged from the Lisbon Treaty. Particular attention is paid to the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and its ability to function as a ‘fundamental rights tribunal’. Thepaper first analyses the praxis of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and its long-standing experience in overseeing the practical implementation of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Against this analysis, it then examines the readiness of the CJEU to live up to its consolidated and strengthened mandate on fundamental rights as one of the prime guarantors of the effective implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. We specifically review the role of‘third-party interventions’ by non-governmental organisations, international and regional human rights actors as well as ‘interim relief measures’ when ensuring effective judicial protection of vulnerable individuals incases of alleged violations of fundamental human rights. To flesh out our arguments, we rely on examples within the scope of the relatively new and complex domain of EU legislation, the Area of Freedom, Securityand Justice (AFSJ), and its immigration, external border and asylum policies