European Legislation

• Citizens of the UK had the right to petition the European Court of Human Rights from 1966.
• Human Rights Act 1998

  • Came into force in October 2000.
  • Allowed individuals to rely on most of the rights guaranteed by the ECHR in national courts.
  • Also allowed courts to overrule earlier incompatible decisions.
• European Convention on Human Rights

  • Creation of the Council of Europe
  • Partially based on the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  • Signed in Rome in 1950.
  • Ratified by the UK in 1951.
  • Came into force in 1953.
• Convention Rights

  • ECHR established a number of fundamental rights and freedoms.
• Absolute Rights

  • No interference of this right is permitted.
• Limited Rights

  • No interference of the right is permitted but there may be some limitations within the right itself.
• Qualified Rights

  • Exceptions (derogations) ore reservations are permitted as long as they are proportionate.
  • They must go no further than necessary to achieve a legitimate purpose.
• European Court of Human Rights

  • Established in 1959 as a final avenue of complaint for claimants who had exhausted domestic remedies.
• The UK became a member of the European Communities on 1 January 1973 once the European Communities Act 1972 came into force.
• Treaty on European Union

  • Also known as the Maastricht Treaty
  • Renamed the EEC to the European Community which eventually became the European Union.
• Single European Act 1986

  • Initiated moves towards harmonisation of laws across Member States.
• Maastricht Treaty

  • Established the three pillars of the EU.
  • The European Community
  • Common Foreign and Security Policy
  • Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters.
• Treaty of Lisbon

  • Ratified by the UK on 19 June 2008.
  • Came into force on 1 December 2009.
  • Amended the Treaty on European Union and Treaty of Rome.
• Institutions of the EU

  • European Commission
  • Council of Ministers/European Council
  • European Parliament
  • Court of Justice of the European Union
  • General Court
• European Commission

  • Represents the interests of the EU as a whole.
  • Proposes new legislation to the European Parliament and Council of the EU.
  • Ensures that EU law is correctly applied by member states.
• Commissioners

  • Each EU state has one commissioner.
  • Each commissioner is responsible for one or more specific areas of policy.
  • Appointments run for a term of five years and are subject to the approval of the European Parliament.
• European Commission - Guardian of the Treaties

  • European Commission takes this role together with the Court of Justice.
  • It can take action and impose penalties against a member state for breaching its obligations under the treaties (Article 258 TFEU) or failure to implement EU legislation (Article 260 TFEU).
• European Commission - Other Roles

  • Managing the EU budget.
  • Allocating funding.
  • Representing the EU internationally.
  • Negotiating agreements between the EU and other countries.
• Council of the EU

  • Represents the governments of the EU Countries
  • One of the main law-making bodies of the EU along with the European Parliament.
• Council of the EU - Other Roles

  • Co-ordinates broad economic policies of the EU states.
  • Develops EU foreign and defence policies.
  • Co-ordinates co-operation between the courts and police force of the EU to ensure equal access to justice.
  • Approves the EU budget with the Parliament.
  • Can enter international agreements on behalf of the EU.
• Council Members

  • Politicians who are Ministers in their domestic governments.
  • Each Minister has the authority to commit their government to a particular policy or decision.
  • Presidency of the Council is held for six months by each EU Member State on a rotational basis.
• European Parliament

  • Represents the people of the EU.
  • One of the main EU law-making institutions along with the Council of the European Union.
  • Debate and adopts the EU budget with the Council
  • Exercises democratic supervision of other EU institutions.
  • Considers petitions from citizen and sets up inquiry committees.
• Members of the European Parliament

  • Directly elected representatives of the people.
  • Elections held every five years.
• European Parliament Roles

  • Debating and passing EU laws together with the Council.
  • This is done by 'ordinary legislative procedure', set out by the Treaty of Lisbon.
• The number of Members of European Parliament is proportion to the population of the member state.
• Court of Justice of the European Union

  • Upholds the rule of EU law by ensuring consistent application of EU law between member states.
  • Settles disputes between EU governments and institutions.
  • Hears cases brought before it.
  • Sits in Luxembourg.
  • Comprises one judge from each Member State.
• Judges in the CJEU

  • Sit in chambers of three or five.
  • Can sit in a plenary session with all judges hearing a case.
• Advocates General

  • Assist the CJEU judges.
  • They submit impartial, reasoned and public opinions to the court on the cases brought before it.
• Judges and advocates general are appointed for a six year term.
• The CJEU delivers a single judgement and separate concurring judgements or dissenting judgements are not permitted.
• Cases brought before the CJEU

  • Preliminary rulings.
  • Failure to fulfil an EU obligation.
  • Actions for annulment.
  • Actions for failure to act.
  • Direct actions.
  • Appeals from the General Court.
• The General Court

  • Established by the Single European Act 1986 to ease the burden of cases on the CJEU.
  • Has first instance jurisdiction over all direct actions brought by EU citizens and countries.
  • Consists of up to two judges from each member state.
  • No permanent advocates general.
  • Currently has 54 judges.
• Judges in the General Court

  • Usually sit in chambers of three or five.
  • Can sit as a single judge in exceptional cases.
  • For complex or more important cases it may sit as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges or a full court.
• Cases in the General Court

  • Direct actions against institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the EU.
  • Actions brought by member states against the commission.
  • Actions brought by member states against the Council.
  • Actions seeking compensation for damage caused by EU institutions or their staff.
  • Actions based on contracts made by the EU.
• European Council

  • Introduce in 1974 in an attempt to deal with policy matters at the highest level.
  • Comprised of the individual Heads of State or governments of the member states.
  • Defines the general political direction and priorities of the EU.
  • Meets twice every six months.