The institutions of the European Union. The Treaty of Rome 1957.

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1 English Common Law: Structure and Principles Week Six: The European Union and Human Rights Additional Notes, Quotes, Case Citations and Web Links for Week Three Lectures The institutions of the European Union The Treaty of Rome The Union shall set itself the following objectives: to promote economic and social progress and a high level of employment and to achieve balanced and sustainable development, in particular through the creation of an area without internal frontiers, through the strengthening of economic and social cohesion and through the establishment of economic and monetary union, ultimately including a single currency in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty. Article 2 Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, principles which are common to the Member States. Paragraph 6(2) specifies that the Union is founded on respect [for] fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention [and] the constitutional traditions common to the Member States. Article 6 The Union shall be served by a single institutional framework which shall ensure the consistency and the continuity of the activities. Article 3 The central institutions are: the European Commission; the Council of the European Union; the European Parliament; the Court of Justice; and the Court of First Instance. The institutions of the Union achieve two main functions. They create a system of government for the Union as a supranational entity, and allow the interests of member states to be taken into account in the creation of policy and the governance of

2 the Union. Perhaps the most dramatic development is that of the European Parliament. This can be understood as an element of the ongoing endeavour to make the Union accountable and democratically legitimate.

3 EU law The main goal of the EU is the progressive integration of Member States economic and political systems and the establishment of a single market based on the free movement of goods, people, money and services. To this end, its Member States cede part of their sovereignty under treaties which empower the EU institutions to adopt laws. In order to carry out their task and in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty, the European Parliament acting jointly with the Council, and the Commission shall

4 Rights, Politics and the Law of the European Union A regulation shall have general application. It shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. A directive shall be binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon each Member State to which it is addressed, but shall leave to the national authorities the choice of form and methods. A decision shall be binding in its entirety upon those to whom it is addressed. Recommendations and opinions shall have no binding force. Van Duyn v. the Home Office where the Community authorities have, by directive, imposed on member states the obligation to pursue a particular course of conduct, the useful effect of such an act would be weakened if individuals were prevented from relying on it before their national courts and if the latter were prevented from taking it into consideration as an element of community law.106

5 The EU and Human Rights The Charter of Fundamental, Annex IV: Protection of fundamental rights is a founding principle of the Union and an indispens- able prerequisite for her legitimacy. The obligation of the Union to respect fundamental rights has been confirmed and defined by the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice. There appears to be a need, at the present stage of the Union s development, to establish a Charter of fundamental rights in order to make their overriding importance and relevance more visible to the Union s citizens.2

6 The ECHR The Convention was an extremely radical innovation. Never before had there been a system of international law which held states accountable to some superior court in respect of actions against its own citizens: previous international courts and tribunals were constituted solely to settle disputes between states, or, in the case of the Nuremberg Tribunal, to try individuals for their own criminal responsibility.20 Hoffman and Rowe Integrity Rights Article 2 protects the right to life and Article 3 is a prohibition on torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. Article 5, the right to liberty and security, can be placed in this first category, but it also overlaps with the second grouping.

7 Due Process Rights and Rights that define Democratic Institutions This grouping covers due process and integrity rights. This category includes Articles 6, 7, 13, 17 and 18. Rights that protect substantive political values Article 10, the freedom of expression, Article 11, the freedom to assemble and to associate and Article 16. Social and Econoimc Rights Article 4, the prohibition on slavery and forced labour Rights protecting Privacy and Plural Civil Society. Article 8, the right to respect for private and family life and Article 12, the right to marry. Article 9 guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion and Article 14 provides the prohibition on discrimination. Impact on English law In May 2007 David Cameron stated that the civil liberties of the suspect were being put first by the courts (see Hirst v the United Kingdom (No 2) [2005] ECHR 68