By Martin Lassen-Vernal and Brendan Sweeney
The Lisbon Treaty, which came into force on 1 December, after being ratified by all 27 EU member states, makes the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding.
The Charter, is one of the most wide-ranging human rights treaties in the world, and includes provisions on civil rights, political rights, social rights, ecological entitlements, rights for the arts and consumer rights. However, it only binds EU institutions and member states when they are implementing EU law.
“The Lisbon Treaty means that human rights in Europe will be strengthened. In practical terms, this means that the EU as an institution will be bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, and, as a consequence, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will be able to handle cases relating to the EU,” explains DIHR legal expert and Deputy Department Director, Christoffer Badse.
Although the Charter is not actually included in the treaty text it is nonetheless legally binding because the treaty directly refers to it.
However, even though the Charter is legally binding it does not give citizens the general right to challenge their national police force, lawmakers or employers whenever they appear to breach these rights.
“One cannot say that the Charter has changed the competencies and tasks that are established in other parts of the treaty. It is more correct to say that it collects the human rights obligations that the member states have already acknowledged in the Council of Europe, the UN and their own constitutional traditions and makes them more visible,” continues Christoffer Badse.
This is why the Charter contains both civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights, he says.
”However, the main point of the Charter isn’t to extend rights; rather, it makes it easier in future to hold states responsible for the obligations and commitments that they have already agreed to honour,” concludes Christoffer Badse.
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