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.
Access the Charter in International Sign Language
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
- Бермудският триъгълник на правата на човека у насTranslated Title:The Bermuda Triangle of Human Rights in our CountryPublished in: Judicial Reports OnlineYear:2017
- Diritti e principi sociali nella Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell’Unione EuropeaTranslated Title:Rights and social principles in the EU Charter of Fundamental RightsPublisher:Jovene EditoreYear:2017
- The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Consumer Credit: Towards Responsible Lending?Published in: In: Collins, H. (ed), European Contract Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights / European Contract Law and TheoryPublisher:IntersentiaYear:2017Page numbers:pp 139 -166
- La Charte des droits fondamentaux saisie par les juges en EuropeTranslated Title:The Charter of Fundamental Rights as apprehended by Judges in EuropePublisher:PedoneYear:2017
- Minimum Harmonisation and Article 16 of the CFREU: Difficult Times Ahead for Social Legislation?Published in: In H. Collins (ed), European Contract Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights / European Contract Law and TheoryPublisher:IntersentiaYear:2017Page numbers:pp. 113 - 123
- Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell’Unione EuropeaTranslated Title:EU Charter of Fundamental RightsPublisher:Giuffré EditoreYear:2017
- Eficácia horizontal da Carta dos Direitos Fundamentais da União Europeia: o caminho faz-se caminhandoTranslated Title:Horizontal effectiveness of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: paths are made by walkingPublished in: Liber Amicorum Fausto de QuadrosYear:2016Page numbers:pp 795 - 812
- Protecţia europeană a drepturilor omului. NediscriminareaTranslated Title:European protection of human rights, Non discriminationYear:2016
- Vers une application sans limite du principe ne (non) bis in idem dans l’Union européenne?Translated Title:Towards an unlimited application of the principle (non) bis in idem in the European Union?Published in: La Semaine Juridique, 2016Year:2016
- Unitrading Revisited. Oncontroleerbaar bewijs tussen eerlijk proces en doeltreffendheidTranslated Title:Unitrading Revisited. Unverifiable evidence between fair trial and expediencyPublished in: Nederlands tijdschrift voor Europees Recht (NtER), 2016Year:2016Page numbers:pp 81-89
- EU-strafferetten og individets grundlæggende rettighederTranslated Title:EU Criminal Law and the Fundamental Rights of the IndividualPublished in: Tidsskrift for Kriminalret, 2016Year:2016Page numbers:pp 429-444
- Pension Rights and Entitlement Conversion (‘Invaren’): Lessons from a Dutch Perspective with Regard to the Implications of the EU CharterPublished in: European Journal of Social Security, 2016Year:2016Page numbers:pp 46-73
- Doorwerking Europese sociale grondrechten in de nationale rechtsorde. Een eenvoudig stappenplan voor de praktijkTranslated Title:The impact of European social fundamental rights in the national rule of law. A simple practical roadmapPublished in: ArbeidsRecht, 2016Year:2016Page numbers:pp 14-17
- La «cultura costituzionale» sottesa alla Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell'UE. Fra modelli di riferimento e innovazioni giuridicheTranslated Title:The “constitutional culture” underlying the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Reference models and law innovationsPublished in: Diritto pubblico comparato ed europeo, 2016Year:2016Page numbers:pp 297-340
- Milliseks kujuneb Euroopa Kohtu roll kaitseõiguste tagamisel kriminaalmenetluses?Translated Title:What will be the Role of the European Court of Justice in Ensuring Defence Rights in Criminal Proceedings?Published in: Juridica, 2016Year:2016Page numbers:pp 665-675
- La vinculación de los jueces nacionales a la Carta de Derechos Fundamentales de la Unión EuropeaTranslated Title:The linkage between the national courts and EU CharterPublished in: Actualidad Administrativa, 2016Year:2016
- Listina základních práv EU jako nástroj budování sociálního modelu EU?Translated Title:The Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the EU as a tool of building social model of the EU?Published in: Pravnik, 2016Year:2016Page numbers:pp 489-508
- Malta’s Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act – A Shift from A Binary Gender to A Whole New Spectrum?Published in: ELSA Malta Law Review Edition V, 2016Year:2016
- State immunity and the right of access to a court under the EU Charter of Fundamental RightsPublished in: International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 2016Year:2016Page numbers:pp 213-228
- Análisis sobre la necesidad de la Carta Europea de Derechos FundamentalesTranslated Title:Analysis on the need for the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European UnionPublished in: Revista Aranzadi Unión Europea, 2016Year:2016Page numbers:pp 43-71