Human and Fundamental Rights Regimes in Europe

Contribution to the course Human Rights Norms and Mechanisms II

13.02.20

Universitas Gadjah Mada (Asia Pacific Master Degree Program on Human Rights and Democracy); 11.-12.02.2019

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Course Contribution Description

Europe is one of the parts of the world with the highest protection of human rights. Most European countries have a highly developed fundamental rights regime anchored in the national constitution and unfolded by the constitutional court. In many European countries it works well in practice. The European Union also has its own fundamental rights regime. Moreover, there is the European Convention on Human Rights and other European human rights law with higher standards than the universal human rights law or geo-regional human rights law in other parts of the world. It protects the citizen like a "second safety net" in case of failure of the national protection of human rights. For the officials in the European countries it can be a challenge to keep all this pluralism of human and fundamental rights regimes in mind.

This course contribution introduces to the concepts of human rights and fundamental rights and the problems of the parallelism of human and fundamental rights regimes. It presents the European Convention on Human Rights and other European human rights law, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as the most modern fundamental rights catalogue in the world and the example of Germany as a country with a particularly sophisticated fundamental rights doctrine. Furthermore, it will include a comparison between the European Convention and other human rights regimes.

Downloads (PDF files)  

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Contents

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Abbreviations

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On the terms "human rights", "fundamental rights" and "constitutional rights"

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Overview over the norms to bear in mind

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List of rights and prohibitions under the European Convention and its Protocols

 
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Transparency films presented in the lectures (® just aids for illustration)
- Film 1  (Introduction; concerning § 1 III)
- Film 2  (The European Convention on Human Rights and other European human rights treaties
; concerning § 2)
- Film 3  (Fundamental rights in the European Union; concerning § 3)
- Film 4  (Fundamental rights in the European countries: the example of Germany; concerning § 4)
- Film 5  (The European human rights law compared to other human rights regimes; concerning § 5)

Contents (summary/details)

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§ 1  Introduction

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§ 2  The European Convention on Human Rights and other European human rights treaties

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§ 3  Fundamental rights in the European Union

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§ 4  Fundamental rights in European countries: the example of Germany

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§ 5  The European human rights law compared to other human rights regimes

Bibliography (selection for this course contribution)

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Barnard, Catherin; Peers, Steve: European Union Law, 2014, p. 236 ff.

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Dikov, Grigory: Update: The European Human Rights System, 2018,

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Fredman, Sandra: The ‘Tinkerbell moment': why we should care about Comparative Human Rights, 2018

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Geiger, Rudolf; Khan, Daniel-Erasmus; Kotzur, Markus: European Union Treaties. Treaty of the European Union, Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2015 [article-by-article presentation]

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Harris, David; O'Boyle, Michael; Bates, Ed; Buckley, Carla:  Law of the European Convention on Human Rights, 4th edition 2018 [for in-depth studies]

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Heun, Werner: The Constitution of Germany, 2011, p. 191 ff., 167 ff.

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Peers, Steve; Hervey, Tamara; Kenner, Jeff; Ward, Angela (editors): The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. A Commentary, 2014 [article-by-article presentation]

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Rainey, Bernadette; Wicks, Elizabeth Wicks; Ovey, Clare: The European Convention on Human Rights, 7th edition 2017 [for in-depth studies]

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Renucci, Jean-François: Introduction to the European Convention on Human Rights, 20015

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Robbers, Gerhard: An introduction to German Law, 6th edition 2017, no. 106 ff.

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Schabas, William A.: The European Convention on Human Rights. A Commentary, 2017 [article-by-article presentation]

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see also: European Human Rights Law Review (EHRLR), since 1979 [specialised journal]

Links

A. Human rights treaties and constitutions

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European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) of 1950 and protocols, with translations in 40 languages

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European Social Charta (revised version of 1996/original version of 1961) and protocols

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European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ECPT) of 1987

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other European human rights treaties

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Statute of the Council of Europe of 1949 (see preamble, art. 1, 3)

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Treaty on European Union (EU Treaty) (see art. 2, 6)

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Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (ChFR) (revised version of 2007) and official explanations

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Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (BL) of 1949

B. Human rights institutions and courts

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European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg

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European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg

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German Federal Constitutional Court [Bundesverfassungsgericht]

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Council of Europe (with specialised institutions: Commissioner for Human Rights, Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH), Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP), Human Rights Trust Fund, Venice Commission)

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European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)

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Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

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European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)

C. Links concerning special subjects

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concerning § 1 IV: Sources of Law for the Protection of Human Rights (comprehensive overview over universal, geo-regional and national law, 2014)

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concerning § 2 VII: Court in brief (ECHR), Film on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), ECHR in 50 questions (ECHR), Questions & Answers (about individual complaints, ECHR); Grigory Dikov, UPDATE: The European Human Rights System, 2018

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concerning § 3 IV: ECJ, opinon 2/13, accession of the European Union to the ECHR

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concerning § 4: Dieter Grimm, The role of fundamental rights after sixty-five years of constitutional jurisprudence in Germany, I•CON 13 (2015), No. 1

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concerning § 5: Sandra Fredman, The ‘Tinkerbell moment': why we should care about Comparative Human Rights, 2018

 

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