Rule of law relevant national case law in the area of fundamental rights

Respect for fundamental rights is a prerequisite for upholding the rule of law and vice versa. This research will provide examples and avenues to help show that by upholding fundamental rights the backsliding of rule of law can be addressed and prevented at the national level.
Project Status
Ongoing
Project start date
December
2024

What?

Respect for fundamental rights is a prerequisite for upholding the rule of law and vice versa. This research will provide examples and avenues to help show that by upholding fundamental rights the backsliding of rule of law can be addressed and prevented at the national level.

Why?

Over the past decade, the rule of law has moved to the centre of interest of European integration. The process of rule of law backsliding appears to follow certain patterns, including political actions and legislative interventions aimed at systematically weakening or even disabling elements of checks and balances. In making the link between the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law more visible through concrete examples, the project will contribute to transnational cooperation and the sharing of experiences between national judiciaries and other independent actors.

How?

The project will collect, through FRA’s 30 Franet partners, examples of judicial and non-judicial instances where protection of fundamental rights is directly linked to the rule of law. The partners will consult with national experts and describe developments in their national legal systems in reports to be published on the FRA website. These reports will form the basis of an analytical report which will be published after discussion in an expert meeting to be held in the autumn of 2025. The analytical report will then be published in 2026.

Findings

Findings will be reported in an analytical report to be published in 2026 and in the agency’s submission to the European Commission’s annual rule of law report. Relevant cases will also be published in Charterpedia.