The Status of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms Within the Human Rights Architecture of the European Union

Abstract

This paper, deals with the specific position of the European Convention of Human Rights within the EU human rights architecture. Special attention is drawn to the relationship between the European Convention of Human Rights and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as the relationship between the European Convention of Human Rights and general legal principles. Despite some tensions between the Luxembourg and the Strasbourg systems of protection, the European Convention remains an important external pillar of the human rights doctrine of the EU Court of Justice. The European Convention and the relevant case law of the European Court of Human Rights continue to be a stabilizing element of the European protection of human rights.