Realising a European Area of Justice through Harmonised Protection of Procedural Rights and Enhanced Integration between the EU and the ECHR Legal Systems
Realising a European Area of Justice through Harmonised Protection of Procedural Rights and Enhanced Integration between the EU and the ECHR Legal Systems

Summary/Abstract: The realisation of a true European area of justice calls for protection and respect for those basic human rights and procedural guarantees underlying the concepts of justice and fair trial, in harmony with the legal standards set by the European Convention of Human Rights and by Strasbourg case law and endorsed by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The relevance of the ECHR acquis for the strengthening of a European area of justice based on judicial cooperation is evident, and this paper aims to illustrate which practical implications and legal obligations stem from it when the EU legislators adopt measures of harmonisation aimed at achieving a higher level of mutual trust between national authorities. In this perspective, the paper will highlight the prominence and non-derogability of the minimum standards of protection set out in the ECHR and established by way of interpretation by the Strasbourg Court, which penetrate the EU legal system through the provisions of article 6(3) of the Treaty on the European Union and articles 52(3) and 53 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The existing convergence of the two European systems of human rights protection, achieved through the aforementioned provisions, is also supported by the progressive development of overlapping standards of application that emerge from the case law of the European Courts. The paper argues that the possible accession of the EU to the ECHR would open up new prospects for enhanced synergy and integration between the EU and the ECHR legal systems, thus moving towards an “integrated protection” of European citizens.

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