Individual rights’ protection system under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: essential features and limits of application

Abstract

Applying the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union at national level still raises a number of questions. The Article highlights the main development stages and essential features of fundamental rights protection in the European Union. Together, referring to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the clear boundaries for the application of the Charter provisions to different addressees (i.e. EU institutions, Member States and individuals) are drawn. In particular, the Article focuses on the Charter’s effect on individuals. After pointing out the conditions, necessary for the horizontal direct effect of the Charter provisions, the author draws attention to the different practical effect of its provisions, as only the rights and freedoms, which are sufficiently precise, could create obligations for individuals. This Article raises the problem that the added value of the Charter to consumer law is insufficient, as its Article 38, concerning consumer protection, does not meet the conditions for direct effect and could not be invoked by consumers against businesses. That seems to impede the achievement of high level consumer protection, especially having in mind that the direct applicability of directives’ adopted in consumer protection field is rather limited. Finally, the relationship of the Charter to the European Convention of Human Rights is analysed, which still remains relevant, because the question of the European Union’s accession to the Convention is so far unsolved