The current system of fundamental rights protection in the European Union

Chapter 1 examines the current system of fundamental rights protection in the European Union in light of Article 6 TEU, as reformed by the Lisbon Treaty. It analyses the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the general principles of EU law concerning fundamental rights, as well as the legal basis for the Union’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In particular, it investigates the assessment methods and elaboration techniques used by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to affirm the existence of general principles on the protection of fundamental rights and tackles the legal and political impasse following Opinion 2/13. Based on the premise that accession is not indispensable, it examines a few alternatives to accession capable of improving the dialogue between the ECJ and the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR), thus securing that, even if accession does not occur, the EU and ECHR systems will continue to coexist virtuously. Keywords: Article 6 TEU; Fundamental Rights Protection in the EU; General Principles on the Protection of Fundamental Rights; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; European Convention on Human Rights