II European Union
| Author | Mielle Bulterman |
| DOI | 10.1177/016934410402200407 |
| Date | 01 December 2004 |
| Published date | 01 December 2004 |
| Subject Matter | Part B: Human Rights News |
654
II EUROPEAN UNION
MIELLE BULTERMAN
1. THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON
HUMAN RIGHTS
In the period under review, two important steps towards accession of the European
Union (EU) to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) have been
made. First of all, the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe, agreed upon by
the EU Member States on 18 June 2004, provides that the Union ‘shall accede to the
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms’. In addition, the Member States of the Council of Europe decided – by
means of an amendment in Protocol 14 – to include the following paragraph in the
ECHR: ‘The European Union may accede to this Convention’. This does not mean
that accession of the European Union to the ECHR will be realised in the short term.
First of all, the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe requires ratification by
all EU Member States and Protocol 14 by all parties to the ECHR. In the second
place, the technical and practical arrangements to realise accession will have to be
worked out, formalised in an accession treaty, which subsequently has to be ratified
by all parties concerned.
Consequently, the question as to the possibilities to bring a case concerning
human rights violations by the European Union before the European Court of
Human Rights (Court by launching a complaint against the EU Member States has
not yet become a merely academic exercise. From this perspective, it is to be
regretted that the European Court has missed an important opportunity to give its
view on the interrelation between the EU, its Member States and the ECHR. In the
case of Senator Lines (Application No. 56672/00), Senator Lines complained of a
violation of Article 6 ECHR in proceedings before the EU Court of First Instance
between Senator Lines and the Commission. Since it is not possible to bring a
complaint against the European Union before the European Human Rights Court,
Senator Lines decided to launch a complaint against all EU Member States. While
the case was pending before the Court – several NGOs, including the International
Commission of Jurists, had already submitted their observations – the Court of Justice
of the European Union (ECJ) ruled in favour of Senator Lines in the appeal brought
against the decision of the Court of First Instance. In view of the decision of the ECJ,
the Grand Chamber decided to declare the complaint of Senator Lines against the 15
EU Member States inadmissible (Decision of 10 March 2004). Eyes have now turned
to another case before the Court with possibly important implications for Member
State responsibility for actions of the European Union: the case Bosphorus
(Application No. 45036/98). This case concerns State responsibility under the
ECHR for the implementation of EU sanctions against Yugoslavia by the national
authorities. The case was declared admissible on 13 September 2001 and has been
assigned to the Grand Chamber.
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