The EU fundamental rights agency within the European and international human rights architecture: The legal framework and some unsettled issues in a new field of administrative law

Common Market Law Review

Volumn 46, Issue 4, 2009, Pages 1035-1068

  von Bogdandy, Armin ^a   von Bernstorff, Jochen ^a  

^a International Law in Heidelberg ^*  (Germany)

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EID: 77953964198     PISSN: 01650750     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (142)

1. Council Regulation (EC) No. 168/2007 of 15 Feb. 2007 establishing a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, O.J. 2007, L 53/1.
2. For details on this policy field see Toggenburg, "Menschenrechtspolitik" in Weidenfeld and Wessels (Eds.), Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration (Baden-Baden, 2006), pp. 167-172.
3. "The role of the new EU Fundamental Rights Agency: Debating the 'sex of angels' or improving Europe's human rights performance?", (2008) EL Rev., 385.
4. On the protection of minorities as a fundamental rights issue, see 10th Recital of the Regulation establishing the Agency; Art. 1 of the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of 1 Feb. 1995, ETS No. 157.
5. Aichele, Nationale Menschenrechtsinstitutionen (Frankfurt/Main, 2003). Since 2003, the German Institute for Human Rights (Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte), in France "La Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme", in Denmark the "Danish Centre for Human Rights" and in Australia the "Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission".
6. Resolution 48/134 of the UN General Assembly of 20 Dec. 1993, U.N. Doc. A/RES/48/134, the Annex to the Resolution sets forth the principles.
7. 20th Recital; Nowak, "The Agency and national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights" in Alston and De Schutter (Eds.), Monitoring Fundamental Rights in the EU: The Contribution of the Fundamental Rights Agency (Oxford, 2005), pp. 91-107, addressing this question before the Agency had been established.
8. Most national institutions refer to "human rights" in their name, see the examples referred to in note 3.
9. On the role of fundamental rights for the EU as a legal order see Joined Cases C-402/05 P & C-415/05 P, Kadi and Al Barakaat v. Council and Commission, judgment of 3 Sept. 2008, nyr., and the Opinion of A.G. Poiares Maduro, delivered on 23 Jan. 2008, paras. 17 et seq.
10. On this development, cf. Weiler, The Constitution of Europe "Do the new clothes have an emperor?" and other essays on European integration (Cambridge, 1999).
11. Pernice, Grundrechtsgehalte im Europäischen Gemeinschaftsrecht (Baden-Baden, 1979)
12. Clapham, Human Rights and the European Community Vol. I, A Critical Overview (Baden-Baden, 1991), pp. 29 et seq.
13. For details on earlier proposals see Bieber, de Gucht, Lenaerts and Weiler (Eds.), Au nom des peuples européens In the name of the peoples of Europe (Baden-Baden, 1996), pp. 365 et seq.
14. Even if not fully justiciable in the UK and Poland
15. Ipsen, Europäisches Gemeinschaftsrecht (Tübingen, 1972), p. 110.
16. The principle of direct applicability is the basis for individual rights; in more detail Beljin, "Dogmatik und Ermittlung der Unionsrechte", 46 Der Staat (2007), 489-514
17. The freedom of movement of workers is the exception to this, the ECJ qualified it rather early on as a fundamental right, see O'Leary, "Free movement of persons and services" in Craig and de Búrca (Eds.), The Evolution of EU Law (Oxford, 1999), p. 377, at pp. 378 et seq.
18. For the legal difference between market freedoms and fundamental freedoms in EU law, see von Bog-dandy, "The European Union as a human rights organization?", 37 CML Rev. (2000), 1307, at 1326 et seq.
19. On general principles, see in detail Pescatore, "Les droits de l'homme et l'intégration européenne", 4 CDE (1968), 629-655
20. On human rights as an "integral part" of the general principles of community law, Case 11/70, Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v. Einfuhrund Vorratsstelle für Getreide und Futtermittel, [1970] ECR 1125.
21. The fundamental freedoms of Art. 6(2) TEU are not the internal market freedoms under the EC Treaty but are derived from fundamental rights traditions of the Member States and from international conventions.
22. On the status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in this context, see Kingreen in Calliess and Ruffert (Eds.), EUV/EGV, 3rd ed. (Munich, 2007), Art. 6 EUV paras. 38-39.
23. Molinier (Ed.), Les principes fondateurs de l'Union européenne (Paris, 2005), p. 29.
24. For an analysis of the relevant case law see below, section 4
25. Recent decisions show a clearer fundamental rights oriented profile, see Case C-540/03, Parliament v. Council, [2006] ECR I-5769, paras. 35 et seq.; Case C-305/05, Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophone and Others v. Council, [2007] ECR I-5305, paras. 28 et seq.
26. In appreciation of these recent developments in the ECJ's decisions see Kühling, "Fundamental Rights" in von Bogdandy and Bast (Eds.), Principles of European Constitutional Law, 2nd ed. (Oxford, 2009, forthcoming), Ch. 13.
27. See the documents referred to in Alston (Ed.), The EU and Human Rights (Oxford, 1999), pp. 939-940.
28. Alston and Weiler, "An 'Ever Closer Union' in Need of a human rights policy" in Alston, pp. 3-66.
29. Their approach decisively influenced the Comité des Sages and its "Human Rights Agenda For the European Union for the Year 2000. Leading by Example" in Alston, ibid., Annex (after 917). For a critique see von Bogdandy, 1307 et seq., which I modify in light of the following considerations.
30. The European Parliament is already involved in fundamental rights issues, irrespective of whether an infringement is caused by the Union, a Member State or a private person. It therefore lays claim to a general competence of becoming engaged in the area of fundamental rights, see EP-Doc. A5-60/2000, A5-50/2000.
31. Scharpf, Governing in Europe: Effective and Democratic? (Oxford, 1999), 43 et seq
32. Maduro, We the Court (Oxford, 1998), 109 et seq
33. See the EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights, Thematic Comment No. 3: The Protection of Minorities in the European Union, 25/04/2005, CRF-CDF.Them-Comm2005.en, ec.europa.eu/justice_home/cfr_cdf/doc/thematic_comments_2005_en.pdf (last visited 17 Dec. 2008), in particular 20, 92 et seq., prepared by Olivier de Schutter.
34. E.g. Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, O.J. 2000, L 80/22; Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 Nov. 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, O.J. 2000, L 302/16; focusing on the discrimination against third country nationals, see Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 Sept. 2003 on the right to family reunification, O.J. 2003, L 251/12; Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 Nov. 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents, O.J. 2004, L 16/44.
35. Conclusion of the Presidency of 21-22 June 1993 (SN 190/1/93), 13
36. Second dash of the Vienna Declaration of 9 Oct. 1993, www.coe.am/en/docs/summits/vienna_summit.pdf (last visited 4 Dec. 2008).
37. On the interaction of the organizations, see Toggenburg, "The Union's Role vis-à-vis Minorities. After the enlargement decade", EUI Working Papers (2006), Law, 24.
38. For a more complete analysis, see von Bogdandy, "The European Union as situation, executive, and promoter of the international law of cultural diversity", 19 EJIL (2008), 241-275
39. The criteria were set forth in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe document of 29 June 1990, Document of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE (Copenhagen, 29 June 1990), item 1
40. In more detail: Toggenburg, "Der Menschenrechtsund Minderheitenschutz in der Europäischen Union" in Weidenfeld (Ed.), Die Europäische Union, 5th ed. (Bonn, 2008), pp. 294, 309.
41. Dated 1 Feb. 1995, entered into force on 1 Feb. 1998; for details of the negotiations see Hofmann, Minderheitenschutz in Europa. Völkerund staatsrechtliche Lage im Überblick (Berlin, 1995), pp. 200 et seq.
42. Latvia for instance had not fulfilled this prerequisite
43. Sasse, "Minority Rights and EU Enlargement: Normative Overstretch or Effective Conditionality?" in Toggenburg (Ed.), Minority Protection and the Enlarged EU (Budapest, 2004), pp. 61, 68, 72.
44. Smith, "Western Actors and the Promotion of Democracy" in Zielonka and Pravda (Eds.), Democratic Consolidation in Eastern Europe, Vol. II International and Transnational Factors (Oxford, 2001), pp. 31-57.
45. Zielonka in Zielonka and Pravda, ibid., "Conclusions. Foreign Made Democracy", pp. 511-556.
46. Art. 26 of the Framework Convention; for details see Hofmann, "Das Überwachungssystem der Rahmenkonvention des Europarates zum Schutz nationaler Minderheiten", 2 Zeitschrift für Europarechtliche Studien (1999), 379-392.
47. Council Regulation (EC) No. 1035/97 of 2 June 1997 establishing a European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, O.J. 1997, L 151/1.
48. For further information see Flauss, "L'action de l'Union européenne dans le domaine de la lutte contre le racisme et la xénophobie", (2001) Revue trimestrielle des droits de l'homme, 487-515
49. Art. 2(1).
50. Art. 2.
51. Bulletin Quotidien Europe No. 7649 of 5 Feb. 2000, 3, 5.
52. For further information see Schorkopf, Die Maßnahmen der XIV EU-Mitgliedstaaten gegen Österreich (Berlin, 2001), p. 26.
53. Art. 4.
54. Inter alia in Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Germany, Finland and Austria
55. Winkler, "Bestrebungen zur Bekämpfung von Rassismus und Fremdenfeindlichkeit in der Europäischen Union" in Deile et al. (Eds.), Jahrbuch Menschenrechte (Frankfurt, 2002), pp. 262, 2.
56. Annex of Council document 5381/04, 27
57. O.J. 2006, C 117 E/242.
58. 2005/0124 (CNS)
59. Ibid., see in particular Art. 5(1) on the multiannual framework and Art. 11 on the composition of the management board with two representatives of the Commission.
60. 10774/05 ADD 1, 5-11
61. 2005/0125 (CNS)
62. Declaration by the Council of 12 Feb. 2007, Council document 6166/07, 4.
63. Resolution 48/134 of the UN General Assembly from 1993, U.N. Doc. A/RES/48/134, Operative Paragraph 2.
64. For details see von Bogdandy, "Informationsbeziehungen innerhalb des Europäischen Verwaltungsverbundes" in Hoffmann-Riem, Schmidt-Aßmann and Voßkuhle (Eds.), Grundlagen des Verwaltungsrechts, Vol. II (Munich, 2008), pp. 347-404.
65. "Links between National and Supra-national Institutions: A Legal View of a New Communicative Universe" in KohlerKoch (Ed.), Linking EU and National Governance (Oxford, 2003), pp. 24-52.
66. On the role of agencies in European Administration see Vos, "Reforming the European Commission: What role to play for EU agencies?", 37 CML Rev. (2000), 1113
67. Chiti, "The emergence of a Community administration: The case of European agencies", 37 CML Rev. (2000), 309.
68. Examples of the extensive literature include Fischer-Appelt, Agenturen der Europäischen Gemeinschaften (Berlin, 1999), pp. 46 et seq.
69. Geradin and Petit, "The development of agencies at EU and national levels: Conceptual analysis and proposals for reform", Jean Monnet Working Paper 01/04, 1, at 36 et seq
70. A general classification of the agencies within the Union's institutional structure can be found in de Búrca, "Institutional development of the EU: A constitutional analysis" in Craig and de Búrca (Eds.), p. 75, who is critical of this tendency.
71. Cf. the list found at europa.eu.int/agencies/index_de.htm (last visited 4 Dec. 2008), which differentiates according to the Union's pillars. The denomination of the agencies varies.
72. Art. 25(3) on translation services and Art. 20 on the budget.
73. Art. 12(6)(k) for the Scientific Committee, Art. 13(1) for the Executive Board, Art. 12(6) (c) for the Director.
74. Art. 12(6)(a).
75. The respective members can be found on the website: fra.europa.eu.
76. For a deeper analysis of this relationship see below 4.3.
77. Art. 5(1); the quorum required is a simple majority pursuant to Art. 205(1) EC. 75. For further details see below 3.3.
78. Art. 14(5) sentence 2 explicitly states this in reference to all the Agency's products mentioned in this provision.
79. 15th Recital, cf. Art. 4(2).
80. On the relationship between EU law and EC law, see in detail von Bogdandy, "The legal case for unity", 36 CML Rev. (1999), 887.
81. COM(2007)654
82. This decision has been endorsed by various actors. Cf.fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/products/fra_opinions/fra_opinions_en.htm (last visited 8 June 2009), COM(2007)65
83. see also European Parliament resolution of 20 Nov. 2008 on the proposal for a Council framework decision on the use of Passenger Name Records (PNR) for law enforcement purposes.
84. Declaration by the Council of 12 Feb. 2007, Council document 6166/07, 4.
85. De Schutter, "The two Europes of Human Rights: The emerging division of tasks between the Council of Europe and the European Union in promoting human rights in Europe", 14 Columbia Journal of European Law (2008), 509, at 524-25
86. Declaration by the Council of 12 Feb. 2007, Council document 6166/07, 3.
87. Resolution of the European Parliament of 18 May 2006, para 35, O.J. 2006, C 117 E/242.
88. Art. 6; according to its 2009 work programme, the Agency will focus on projects in the following areas: the information society and, in particular, respect for private life and protection of personal data; issues related to asylum, immigration and integration of migrants; racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, islamophobia, and related intolerance; discrimination based on sex, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation and against persons belonging to minorities and any combination of these grounds; the rights of the child, including the protection of children; participation of the citizens of the Union in the Union's democratic functioning; access to efficient and independent justice, see Annual Work Programme 2009, fra. europa.eu/fra/material/pub/WP/wp09_en.pdf (last visited 14 Jan. 2009).
89. Art. 4(1)(a) and (b).
90. Generally on information administration, see Schmidt-Aßmann, Das allgemeine Verwaltungsrecht als Ordnungsidee, 2nd ed. (Berlin, 2006), pp. 278 et seq.
91. Art. 4(1)(f). The Annual Work Programme 2008 foresaw inter alia data collection projects on racism in sport and the examination of legal instruments and judicial data in reference to the rights of the child, fra.europa.eu/fra/material/pub/WP/wp08_en.pdf (last visited 23 Dec. 2008).
92. With a broad interpretation of an obligation of loyal cooperation between EU institutions based on Art. 10 EC, see Toggenburg, "Exploring the fundaments of a new agent in the field of rights protection: the Fundamental Rights Agency in Vienna", 7 European Yearbook of Minority Issues (2009), forthcoming.
93. On this, see the opinion mentioned in footnote 81
94. On information networks under the auspices of the OECD as public authority see Goldmann, "Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung, oder: Netzwerke dogmatisch gedacht" in Boysen et al. (Eds.), Netzwerke (Berlin, 2007), pp. 225-245.
95. 20th Recital
96. Resolution 48/134 of the UN General Assembly of 20 Dec. 1993, U.N. Doc. A/RES/48/134.
97. The 2nd Recital already cites the social charters adopted by the Council of Europe; for further details see Alston, "The contribution of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency to the realization of economic and social rights" in Alston and De Schutter, pp. 159-188.
98. As mentioned above, the Commission originally envisaged that the Agency would also be responsible for fundamental rights in the areas of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, but this proposal was blocked by the Council. The compromise reached removed this area from the substantive scope of the Agency's competence, but stipulates that the Council would make another decision on this issue at a later date, Declaration by the Council of 12 Feb. 2007, Council document 6166/07, 4.
99. On the legal objections against the Agency's jurisdiction in the third pillar raised by the German Bundesrat, see Toggenburg," Die Grundrechteagentur der Europäischen Union: Perspektiven, Aufgaben, Strukturen und Umfeld einer neuen Einrichtung im Europäischen Menschenrechtsraum", (2007) MenschenRechtsMagazin, 86, at 99
100. Resolution 48/134 of the UN General Assembly of 20 Dec. 1993, U.N. Doc. A/RES/48/134, Annex, under the section "Composition and guarantees of independence and pluralism", Nos. 1-3.
101. The Lisbon Treaty should improve the situation, see below 5
102. In more detail, see von Bogdandy, "The European Union as a Supranational Federation", 6 Columbia Journal of European Law (2000), 27-54
103. Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, O.J. 2000, L 80/22; Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 Nov. 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, O.J. 2000, L 302/16.
104. Council Decision of 20 March 2007, CS/2007/7404 (Signing of the UN-Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)
105. See e.g. Case C540/03, European Parliament v. Council, [2006] ECR I-5769, paras. 37-39 and 58.
106. COM(2005)172
107. Toner, "Impact assessment and fundamental rights protection in EU law", 31 EL Rev. (2006), 316.
108. Opinion 2/94 on Accession by the Community to the ECHR [1996] ECR I-1759, para 27
109. Ward, Judicial Review and the Rights of Private Parties in EC Law (Oxford, 2000), p. 340.
110. For selected examples see Case C-404/92 P, X v. Commission, [1994] ECR I-4737 and Case C-191/98 P, Tzoanos v. Commission, [1999] ECR I-8223.
111. Freedom of expression: Case 100/88, Oyowe and Traore v. Commission, [1989] ECR 4285; freedom of religion: Case 130/75, Prais v. Council, [1976] ECR 1589.
112. On the right of access to documents: Case T-210/01, GEC v. Commission, [2005] ECR II-5575; on the length of time of proceedings: Case C-185/95 P, Baustahlgewebe v. Commission, [1998] ECR I-8417; on fair hearing: Case C-49/88, Al-Jubail Fertilizer Co. and Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co. v. Council, [1991] ECR I-3187.
113. Parliament v. Council, cited supra note 19, paras. 35 et seq.; Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophone and Others v. Council, cited supra note 19, paras. 28 et seq.
114. The classic so called "Nold and Hauer Jurisprudence", see Case 4/73, Nold v. Commission, [1974] ECR 491; Case 44/79, Hauer v. Rheinland Pfalz, [1979] ECR 3727; see also Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v. Einfuhr, cited supra note 15.
115. Case C-84/95, Bosphorus v. Minister for Transport, [1996] ECR I-3953.
116. On the issue of ex ante political scrutiny and ex post judicial control see Kumm, "Constitutionalising subsidiarity in integrated markets", 12 ELJ (2006), 503, at 525-30
117. See the reference to the ECHR in Art. 6(2) EU; Grabenwarter, Europäische Menschenrechtskonvention (München, 2008), pp. 5-6.
118. See above section 3.1.
119. For an extensive discussion of the relationship between the Agency and the Council of Europe see De Schutter, 530 et seq.
120. O.J. 2008, L 186/7.
121. No. 6 in the Agreement (O.J. 2008, L 186/8).
122. No. 13 (a)-(c) in the Agreement (O.J. 2008, L 186/9).
123. Nos. 7-11 in the Agreement (O.J. 2008, L 186/8).
124. No. 15 in the Agreement (O.J. 2008, L 186/9).
125. No. 4 in the Agreement (O.J. 2008, L 186/8).
126. For a thorough analysis and evaluation of strategies on how to cope with the problem see Wolfrum and Deutsch (Eds.), The European Court of Human Rights Overwhelmed by Applications: Problems and Possible Solutions (Heidelberg, 2009).
127. on the "explosion" in the number of cases see the Report of the Group of Wise Persons to the Committee of Ministers, Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Doc. CM(2006)203 of 15 Nov. 2006; as of 12 May 2009 the Council of Europe has adopted Protocol No. 14bis as a recent measure to address the crisis in the court.
128. Weiler, "Fundamental rights and fundamental boundaries" in Weiler, pp. 102-129.
129. This does not preclude the possibility that some of the Member States may model their fundamental rights autonomously on European standards: Huber, "Offene Staatlichkeit: Vergleich" in von Bogdandy, Villalón and Huber (Eds.), Handbuch Ius Publicum Europaeum, Vol. II (Heidelberg, 2008), § 26, paras. 98 et seq.
130. Kühling, "Fundamental Rights" in von Bogdandy and Bast (Eds.), Principles of European Constitutional Law (Oxford, 2007), p. 501, at pp. 524 et seq.
131. As an example of a violation of fundamental rights found by the ECtHR in this field see the ground-breaking judgment of the ECtHR of 13 Nov. 2007 on the discrimination against the Roma in the Czech school system: D. H. and Others v. the Czech Republic, Grand Chamber, Application No. 57325/00; see also the successful complaint alleging violation of the right to housing of, and discrimination against Roma in Greece under the European Social Charter: Roma Human Rights Centre v. Greece, Decision of the European Committee on Social Rights of 8 Dec. 2004, Complaint No. 15/2003.
132. Wolfrum, "The legal status of Sinti and Roma in Europe; a case study concerning the shortcomings of the protection of minorities", 33 Annuaire Européen (1985), 75-91
133. Guglielmo, "Human Rights in the Accession Process: Roma and Muslims in an Enlarging EU" in Toggenburg (Ed.), Minority Protection and the Enlarged EU: The Way Forward (Budapest, 2004), pp. 37-58.
134. De Schutter and Verstichel, "The Role of the Union in Integrating the Roma: Present and Possible Future", 2 Edap (2005), www.eurac.edu/documents/edap/2005_edap02.pdf (last visited 8 June 2009).
135. See above section 3.2.
136. As in the landmark ERT case, Case C-260/89, Elliniki Radiophonia Tileorassi AE (ERT) v. Dimotiki Etairia Pliroforissis and Sotirios Kouvelas, [1991] ECR I-2925.
137. See on this development Bast, "Legal Instruments and Judicial Protection" in von Bogdandy and Bast (Eds.), Ch. 10, section II, subsection 3; Kühling,.
138. European Parliament v. Council, cited supra note 19; see for this tendency also Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophones and Others v. Council, cited supra note 19.
139. On this problem Huber, "Unitarisierung durch Gemeinschaftsgrundrechte Zur Überprüfungsbedürftigkeit der ERT-Rechtsprechung", 2 Europarecht (2008), 190
140. Masing, "Vorrang des Europarechts bei umsetzungsgebundenen Rechtsakten", 5 Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (2006), 264
141. Declaration by the Council of 12 Feb. 2007, Council document 6166/07, 4.
142. Gusy, "Grundrechtsmonitoring. Grundrechtsdurchsetzung außerhalb gerichtlicher Instanzen", 47 Der Staat (2008), 511, at 522 et seq.; with a comparative law survey: Aichele.