Module 6

Fundamental rights, values and citizenship: the Charter, the general principles, the limits on rights, the rule of law and the rights of citizens

The founding treaties were about coal, steel and trade, and said nothing about fundamental rights. Yet a legal order that makes law binding on individuals and states cannot long avoid asking what limits it must respect. The answer grew in three stages: the Court of Justice declared that rights are protected as general principles of Union law, the member states and institutions agreed a Charter of Fundamental Rights that the Lisbon Treaty made binding, and the Union set out in Article 2 of the TEU the values on which it rests. This module follows that development and then asks the practical questions a lawyer must answer: does the Charter apply to this measure or this state, which right is in play, may it be limited and on what conditions, and what can be done when a member state itself undermines the rule of law? It ends with the rights that come with Union citizenship.

General education on European Union law, using invented people and businesses and abstract member states. It states the Treaty framework and landmark decisions in simplified form, and it is not legal advice. Rules change and national implementation differs. Consult a qualified lawyer in the place that matters.