EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union enshrines into primary EU law a wide array of fundamental rights enjoyed by EU citizens and residents. It became legally binding with the coming into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009.
This section of the website encompasses Charterpedia, an online tool which provides easy-to-access information about the Charter and its provisions. For each Charter Article, it includes the official explanations of the Charter Articles, related European and national case law, and related provisions in national constitutional law as well as in international law. It also contains references to academic analysis and related FRA publications. The information is also available offline in our EU Charter App.
The original compilation was created by the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee. Since 2009 it has been maintained and continuously expanded by the FRA.
The European and national case law is also accessible via the Case-Law Database.
Our new e-learning tool Charter e-guidance assists judges and other legal practitioners on the field of application of the Charter as laid down in Article 51.
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
- Annual report by the European Commission on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (2010 onwards)
- Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU
- Commission notice - Guidance on ensuring the respect for the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union when implementing the European Structural and Investment Funds (‘ESI Funds’)
- Council Conclusions on the Charter of Fundamental Rights after 10 Years: State of Play and Future Work, 20.9.2019
- European Parliament resolution of 12 February 2019 on the implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in the EU institutional framework (2017/2089(INI))
- How to better implement the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights - Selected Quotes from European Parliament and Council Conclusions 2010 - 2020
ARTICLE-BY-ARTICLE COMMENTARIES ON THE CHARTER
- Bifulco, R., Cartabia, M. and Celotto, A. (2001), L’Europa dei diritti: Commento alla Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell’Unione Europea, il Mulino, Bologna.
- Coghian N. Steiert M. (eds.) (2020), The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: the travaux préparatoires and selected documents
- Holoubek, M. and Lienbacher, G. (eds.) (2019), Commentary on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (GRC-Kommentar), 2nd edition, Manz, Vienna;
- Kellerbauer, M., Klamert, M. and Tomkin J. (eds.) (2019), Commentary on the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- Mangas Martin, A. (2008), Carta de los derechos fundamentales de la Unión Europea: Comentario, artículo por artículo, Fundacion BBVA, Bilbao.
- Mastroianni, R., Allegrezza, S., Razzolini, O., Pollicino, O. and Pappalardo, F. (eds.) (2017), Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell’Unione Europea, Giuffrè, Milano;
- Meyer, J. and Hölscheidt, S. (eds.) (2019), Charta der Grundrechte der Europäischen Union: Kommentar, (Commentary on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union) 5th edition.
- Peers, S., Hervey, T., Kenner, J. and Ward, A. (scheduled for 2021), The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: A commentary, 2nd edition, CH Beck Hart Nomos, Oxford;
- Picod, F., Rizcallah, C. and Van Drooghenbroeck, S. (2020), Charte des droits fondamentaux de l’Union européenne: Commentaire article par article (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: Commentary article-byarticle), Bruylant, Bruxelles.
- Sachpekidou E., Tagaras Ch., Kanellopoulou-Malouchou N., Karagiannis V., Lentzis D., Marouda M.-N., Sarmas D., Takis A., Tsolka O., (2020), Κατ’ άρθρο ερμηνεία του Χάρτη των Θεμελιωδών Δικαιωμάτων της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης (Article-By-Article Commentary Of The Eu Charter Of Fundamental Rights ), Nomiki Bibliothiki, 752 p.
- Toggenburg G. (2019 - 2021), All EU-r rights, Online series published in the EURAC Research in English, Blog (and partly available also in Italian on Lo Spiegone)
OTHER DOCUMENTS, SOURCES AND TOOLS (mostly from projects co-funded by the EU)
- Case-law by the Court of Justice of the European Union on the principle of ne bis in idem in criminal matters. Eurojust February 2024
- European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) judicial publications
The European Union Agency for Asylum produces a range of judicial publications specifically tailored to the needs of members of courts and tribunals competent in asylum matters. These publications comprise judicial analyses, judicial trainers’ guidance notes and compilations of jurisprudence. All materials are developed in English and are translated in several languages. - ACTIONES (Active Charter Training through Interaction Of National Experiences) was an EU-funded project focused on the vertical and horizontal interaction between courts. It resulted in four handbooks on techniques of judicial interactions in the application of the Charter.
- The Charter in action: an EU-funded project that resulted in a best practices handbook for Charter trainings and a training manual;
- Charterclick was an EU-funded project that resulted in a Charter tutorial and an interactive checklist both designed to make understand whether the Charter applies to a given case. Both tools are available on the e-justice platform of the European Commission.
- European Judicial Training Network (ETJN) database lists all available face-to-face judicial training opportunities.
- Council of Europe HELP training platform provides a range of resources on the ECHR. These include distance-learning and self-learning resources on the ECHR and European human rights standards, as well as handbooks and other useful resources.
- Council of Europe HELP: Introduction to Human Rights Protection in Europe - Interplay between the ECHR and the EU Charter
- Judging the Charter: an EU-funded project which resulted in a set of training events, a manual on the role of the Charter in asylum cases and a Charter website that brings together a large amount of Charter-related information, including exercises and training materials, case law and a selection of relevant EU legislation;
- Library of Charter-specific training materials put together by the European Law Academy in Trier which offers a wide spectrum of trainings on the Charter
- Making the Charter of Fundamental Rights a living instrument: an EU-funded project that resulted in a user-friendly Manual on the Charter and Guidelines for civil society actors on how to best use the Charter;
- Making the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights a reality for all - 12 November 2019 - Conference material
NB: The above links are provided for information purposes only. The FRA bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of external websites and links.
260 results found
- 20 år av EU:s stadga om de grundläggande rättigheternaTranslated Title:20 years of the EU Charter of Fundamental RightsPublished in: Tidskrift utgiven av Juridiska föreningen i Finland 156 2Year:2020Page numbers:265-274
- Les dix ans de la Charte des droits fondamentaux de l'Union européenne. Bilan et perspectivesTranslated Title:The ten years of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: Overview and outlookPublished in: BruylantYear:2020
- Charte des droits fondamentaux de l'Union européenne: Commentaire article par articleTranslated Title:Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: Commented article by articleYear:2020
- Κατ’ άρθρο ερμηνεία του Χάρτη των Θεμελιωδών Δικαιωμάτων της Ευρωπαϊκής ΈνωσηςTranslated Title:Article-By-Article Commentary Of The Eu Charter Of Fundamental RightsPublished in: Nomiki BibliothikiYear:2020
- I diritti fondamentali fra ‘Carta dei diritti UE’ e ‘costituzionalismo multilivello‘Translated Title:Fundamental rights between the ‘EU Charter of Fundamental Rights‘ and ‘multi-level constitutionalism‘Published in: La Cittadinanza Europea 1Year:2020Page numbers:47-85
- La Carta di Nizza-Strasburgo nel sistema costituzionale europeoTranslated Title:The Nice-Strasbourg Charter in the European constitutional systemPublished in: Rivista AICYear:2020
- The Scope of Application of the Charter’s Right to Good Administration of the European UnionPublished in: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs 3 3Year:2020Page numbers:20-28
- Het EU-Handvest van de Grondrechten en bovenwettelijke vakantiedagenTranslated Title:The EU Charter of Fundamental Righrs and extra statutory holidaysPublished in: Tijdschrift Recht en Arbeid 12 1Year:2020Page numbers:26-28
- Świeże spojrzenie TSUE na Kartę praw podstawowych Unii EuropejskiejTranslated Title:A recent look of the CJEU on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European UnionPublished in: Praca i Zabezpieczenie Społeczne 61 2Year:2020Page numbers:12
- Aby Karta praw podstawowych Unii Europejskiej była rzeczywistością dla wszystkich: 10 lat, odkąd Karta jest prawnie wiążącaTranslated Title:Let the Charter of Fundamental Rights be reality for everyone: 10 years since the Charter became legally bindingPublished in: Europejski Przegląd SądowyYear:2020Page numbers:4
- Temeljne pravice v času koronakrize z vidika prava EUTranslated Title:Fundamental rights at the time of corona crisis from the perspective of EU lawPublished in: Pravna praksa, Časopis za pravna vprašanja 39Year:2020Page numbers:1-8
- Instrumente juridice de protectie a drepturilor fundamentale la nivelul Uniunii EuropeneTranslated Title:European Union legal instruments for the protection of fundamental human rightsPublished in: C.H. Beck PublishingYear:2020
- From Portugal to Poland: The Court of Justice of the European Union as watchdog of judicial independencePublished in: Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 27 1Year:2020Page numbers:105-119
- O acórdão Associação Sindical dos Juízes Portugueses como antecâmara para a intervenção do TJUE na crise do Estado de Direito na União EuropeiaTranslated Title:The decision "Trade Union Association of Portuguese Judges" as an antechamber for the intervention of the CJEU in the crisis of the rule of law in the European UnionPublished in: Revista Ibérica do Direito 27 1Year:2020Page numbers:100-112
- The Charter of Fundamental Rights: ‘All EU-r rights’ in 54 provisionsPublished in: Blog Series “All EU-r rights”Publisher:Blog EUreka!Year:2019
- La relazione fra Carta dei Diritti Fondamentali dell’Unione Europea e direttive nelle controversie orizzontaliTranslated Title:The relationship between the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and directives in disputes between private individualsPublished in: Federalismi.it 10Year:2019
- Le direttive in materia sociale e la Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell’Unione europea: un dialogo tra fonti per dilatare e razionalizzare (?) gli orizzonti dell’effetto diretto. Il caso della giurisprudenza “sulle ferie”Translated Title:The directives in the social field, and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: A dialogue between sources of law to widen and streamline (?) the scope of direct effect. Case law on “leave from work”Published in: Federalismi.it 10Year:2019
- Local Authorities and the Burden of Safeguarding Human RightsPublished in: Lex Localis- Journal of Local Self-Government 17 3Year:2019Page numbers:837-852
- The EU Internal Market and the EU Charter: Exploring the ‘Derogation SituationPublished in: F. Amtenbrink, G. Davies, D. Kochenov, & J. Lindeboom (Eds.), The Internal Market and the Future of European Integration: Essays in Honour of Laurence W. GormleyYear:2019Page numbers:pp. 49-56
- The Fundamental Right to Good Administration: from the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to the prospects of its effectiveness and control in the constitutional orders of Portugal and Spain: comparative developments in the Brazilian realPublished in: Seqüência - Legal and Political Studies 41 82Year:2019Page numbers:pp 176-201
89 total results found
- Published in: 32nd DáilYear:2017Summary:The debate concerned a bill on Data Protection. The discussion focused on the content of the Bill and how the Bill gives effect to EU Rules, including provisions of EU Regulation 2016/679 concerning the right to protection of personal data and the right to freedom of expression and information which are both included in the Charter. The Charter had an impact in the sense that it was included in the EU Regulation and then subsequently in the Bill but it did not impact on the debate.
Mr Carroll from the Department of Justice and Equality explains what is to be included in the Bill. He states at one point: ‘Head 24 seeks to give effect to Article 85 of the regulation, which recognises that it is a matter for member state law to reconcile the right to the protection of personal data with the right to freedom of expression and information, both of which are rights included in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.’
Mr Carroll later states: ‘Moving on to Part 6, without prejudice to the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, both the regulation and the directive require that data subjects have the right to an effective judicial remedy. Provision for this is made in head 91. Recourse to the courts is necessary in any event in those cases in which a data subject claims compensation for material or non-material damage suffered as a result of a breach of data protection law. Head 90 makes provision for the appointment of a supervisory authority to supervise the processing activities of courts when acting in their judicial capacity. Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights provides that compliance with its rules shall be subject to control by an independent authority.’ - Translated Title:Published in: Stenographische Protokolle XXV. Gesetzgebungsperiode 23. Sitzung des Nationalrates der Republik ÖsterreichYear:2017Summary:In a parliamentary debate concerning the Amendment Act on the Law of Aliens 2017, the Member of Parliament emphasized the importance of Union Law, especially the CFR, in the context of asylum procedures. More concretely, he underlined the significance of Art47 CFR and the necessity to have effective legal remedies provided.
- Published in: Dáil Éireann, 32nd Dáil 947 1Year:2017Summary:The Debate concerned the Good Friday Agreement and how the human rights provisions included in it would be enforced in Ireland and Northern Ireland post-BREXIT. Questions were raised about how an equivalence of human rights in Ireland and Northern Ireland could be ensured and the Charter was raised in this context. It did not have a definite impact on the debate but the proposition of the UK government concerning the Charter post-BREXIT was explained.
Deputy Charles Flanagan stated: ‘I assure the House and the Deputy that the Government is a firm supporter of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, but the Good Friday Agreement predates that charter and does not expressly provide for it. That said, the charter provides an important and effective common reference on rights across the island of Ireland, as it does across the EU as a whole. I wish to refer again to the White Paper on legislating for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. The British Government expressly indicated that the provisions of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Northern Ireland will not be applied as part of British law after the UK leaves the EU. This may require that a consideration may be given to alternative means of ensuring the coherence of rights frameworks across the island of Ireland.’
- Translated Title:Published in: Udlændinge- og Integrationsudvalget 2016-17 L 153Year:2017Summary:Ms Karen J. Klint is a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Immigration and Integration and represents the Social Democrats. She raised a question in writing to the Danish Minister for Immigration and Integration requesting the minister to provide information on judgments and/or conventions protecting unaccompanied asylum children from being extradited. The minister stressed that the Danish Refugee Appeals Board shall make a general assessment of whether a country under the Dublin Regulation is to be considered as a safe third country. If the Appeals Board finds that there is a risk that the unaccompanied child may be subject to inhuman or degrading treatment as defined in Article 4 of the Charter, the unaccompanied child cannot be extradited to the country in question.
- Published in: HansardYear:2017Summary:A debate was held in the UK House of Commons on 30 March 2017 on legislating for UK withdrawal from the EU.
- Published in: HansardYear:2017Summary:A question was asked in the UK Parliament on 29 March 2017 on the applicability of the Charter of Fundamental Rights after Brexit.
- Published in: Dáil Éireann 32nd Dáil 937 4Year:2017Summary:The Debate concerned a bill on Media Ownership. The discussion focused on how the concentration of media ownership in Ireland had been a concern and that the protection of a free and pluralistic media is a feature of a functioning democracy. The Charter was referenced as including the protection of a free and pluralistic media. It did not have an impact on the debate.
- Translated Title:Year:2017Summary:Mr Peter Skaarup is a member of the Danish Parliament, including the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs and represents the Danish People’s Party. As a part of his work in the committee, Mr Skaarup raised a question to the Danish Minister of Justice on whether Denmark has a human rights responsibility as regards statements on social media or on the internet, for example, a responsibility to protect against hateful speech or to protect against discriminating censorship of unpopular opinions expressed on social media. In its reply, the ministry stated that Article 11 of the Charter corresponds to the provision in Article 10 of the ECHR. It then went on to assess the issue in accordance with Article 10 of the ECHR rather than Article 11 of the Charter. The ministry states that, in accordance with Article 10 of the ECHR, it may be necessary in a democratic society to sanction statements if they incite to violence or are expressions of hate speech.
- Translated Title:Published in: Sprawozdanie Stenograficzne z 24. posiedzenia Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej PolskiejPage numbers:89Year:2016
- Translated Title:Published in: Parlamentarische Materialien XXV.GP 10067/JYear:2016Summary:The Members of the Parliament filed an inquiry, asking the Federal Minister of the Interior 48 questions on the accommodation of refugees of minor age in Austria. In the introduction to these questions the Members of the Parliament referred to the special protection for refugees of minor age as laid down in various legal bases, including the Charter.
- Published in: Dáil Éireann 32nd Dáil 917 3Year:2016Summary:On 12th July 2016 Deputy Kate O’Connell asked the Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald about the provision of civil legal aid and asked her views on whether Ireland may be in breach of its fundamental obligations under Article 47 European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights if it forces companies to be represented by lawyers and does not offer any regime for legal aid for companies.
Minister Fitzgerald stated: “I am aware of Case C-258/13 regarding Article 47 of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights which was heard by the European Court of Justice. While there are no plans at present to introduce legal aid for the type of commercial enterprise referred to, the situation is kept under review in my Department.”
- Translated Title:Published in: Sprawozdanie Stenograficzne z 22. posiedzenia Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej PolskiejPage numbers:321Year:2016Summary:During the plenary discussion concerning the new draft Act on the Constitutional Tribunal, Michał Stasiński (MP) referred specific provisions of international law which guarantee recognition of a case by the justice system without unjustified delay. Among those provisions, there were guarantees included in the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
- Translated Title:Published in: Sprawozdanie Stenograficzne z 20. posiedzenia Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej PolskiejPage numbers:426Year:2016
- Translated Title:Published in: Samling 2015-16 besluftningsforslag B 88Year:2016Summary:This parliamentary debate concerned a draft proposal for a parliamentary resolution on the establishment of a commission on the freedom of speech. The proposal was drafted by the Socialists People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti, SF) and the speech referred to above was delivered by the Minister of Justice, Mr Søren Pind, as a comment to the proposal. In his speech, Mr Pind referred to Article 11 of the Charter stating that as the freedom of speech is fully protected within this provision.
Quote: "The Constitution protects the formal freedom of expression, i.e. the right to publicly announce one’s expressions, but it is assumed that the Constitution does not protect […] the right not to be met with sanctions for certain types of utterances. [This kind of] freedom of expression on the other hand is, inter alia, protected in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights".
- Translated Title:Published in: Samling 2015-16 beslutningsforslag B 148Year:2016Summary:This parliamentary debate concerned a draft proposal for a parliamentary resolution on strengthening data protection. The proposal was drafted by Enhedslisten and consisted of a total of 16 recommendations. Under recommendation no. 4, it iswas discussed how the Danish Data Protection Agency can be more closely linked to the Danish Parliament.
Quote: "[T]he Council of Digital Security has stated that it supports the placement of a Data Protection Agency under the Parliament because the Council does not believe that the Data Protection Agency with its current location under the Ministry of Justice meet the requirement of independence as set out in, e.g., the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights"
- Translated Title:Published in: Стенограми от пленарни заседания ШЕСТА СЕСИЯYear:2016Summary:One of the parliamentary groups used a general reference to the Charter to criticise the legislative action of the ruling party in general and, in particular, some amendments in the Elections Code (Изборен кодекс). It was said that the Charter, among others, laid minimum standards on fundamental rights, which recent legislation did not comply with. No particular amendments were cited in specific relation with the Charter.
- Published in: Dáil Éireann 32nd Dáil 907 2Year:2016Summary:On 21st April 2016 Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire spoke about EU-UK Relations and referred to the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Deputy Ó Laoghaire stated: “In particular, the danger that the ability to use the Charter of Fundamental Rights as a defence against regressive or punitive British legislation would be removed.”
- Translated Title:Published in: Стенограми от пленарни заседания СТО ШЕСТДЕСЕТ И ДЕВЕТО ЗАСЕДАНИЕYear:2016Summary:One of the parliamentary groups presented a draft law on amending the Elections Code (Изборен кодекс). One of the amendments concerned the repeal of the prohibition to use languages other than the official one in pre-election campaigns. The political party advocated for the repeal, stating that freedom of expression is a right, reiterated in a number of international documents like the ECHR and the Charter, mentioned only generally.
- Published in: Samling 2015-16 besluftningsforslag B 77Year:2016Summary:This parliamentary debate was based on a proposal for a parliamentary resolution drafted by the Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti, SF). In the spokesperson’s speech to Parliament, a general reference there was referred made in general to the Charter along in connection with references to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (see quote below).
On the three conventions mentioned above, the spokesperson, Ms Trine Torp, stated that they ‘determine that any discrimination based on, inter alia, disabilities that are not objectively justified and proportionate, is prohibited’ and, hereinafter, mentions situations where persons with disabilities have had an impact on decisions on municipality level but not on national level as an example of discrimination. - Translated Title:Published in: Parlamentarische Materialien XXV. GP 7670/JYear:2016Summary:In 2015, the Administrative Court stopped a transfer of an asylum seeker to Hungary because the situation there was regarded as unsafe and thus a transfer could potentially constitute a violation of the Charter. The Court also ruled that the situation for such transfers has to be assessed in more detail, in order to decide properly whether asylum seekers may or may not be transferred to Hungary in the course of a Dublin procedure. The Members of the Parliament now filed an inquiry, asking the Federal Minister of the Interior how the situation in Hungary is currently assessed by the Ministry.