European Union 6 Human and Basic Rights International

European Union 6 Human and Basic Rights International Summer School 2015 Renmin University of China, Beijing Syllabus Prof. Dr. Werner Meng

Fundamental Rights Charter Art. 6. 1 TEU: „ 1. The Union recognises the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union of 7 December 2000, as adapted at Strasbourg, on 12 December 2007, which shall have the same legal value as the Treaties. The provisions of the Charter shall not extend in any way the competences of the Union as defined in the Treaties. The rights, freedoms and principles in the Charter shall be interpreted in accordance with the general provisions in Title VII of the Charter governing its interpretation and application and with due regard to the explanations referred to in the Charter, that set out the sources of those provisions. 2

Contents of EU HR Charter The first title, dignity, guarantees the right to life and prohibits torture, slavery and the death penalty. Its provisions are mostly based on the ECHR, although Article 1 closely reflects Article 1 of the German Basic Law. The second title covers liberty, privacy, marriage, thought, expression, assembly, education, work, property and asylum. The third title covers equality, the rights of children and the elderly. The fourth title covers social and workers' rights including the right to fair working conditions, protection against unjustified dismissal, and access to health care. The fifth title covers the rights of the EU citizens such as the right to vote in election to the European Parliament and to move freely within the EU. It also includes several administrative rights such as a right to good administration, to access documents and to petition the European Parliament. The sixth title covers justice issues such as the right to an effective remedy, a fair trial, to the presumption of innocence, the principle of legality, non-retrospectivity and double jeopardy. 3

European HR Convention Art. 6. 2, 3 TEU: 2. The Union shall accede to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Such accession shall not affect the Union’s competences as defined in the Treaties. 3. Fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, shall constitute general principles of the Union’s law. 4

ECHR Rights Article 1 - respecting rights Article 2 - life Article 15 - derogations Article 16 - aliens Article 3 - torture Article 17 - abuse of rights Article 4 - servitude Article 18 - permitted restrictions Article 5 - liberty and security Protocol 1 Article 6 - fair trial Article 1 - property Article 7 - retrospectivity Article 2 - education Article 3 – elections Article 8 - privacy Article 9 - conscience and religion Article 10 - expression Article 11 - association Protocol 4 - civil imprisonment, free movement, expulsion Protocol 6 - restriction of death penalty Protocol 7 - crime and family Article 12 – marriage Protocol 12 - discrimination Article 13 - effective remedy Article 14 - discrimination Protocol 13 - complete abolition of death penalty 5