Judging the Charter

The Charter in judicial practise with a special focus on the case of protection of refugees and asylum seekers

The Charter in a nutshell - Rights and Principles

Are the Charter’s provisions of Art. 25: The Union recognises and respects the rights of the elderly, and Art. 26: The Union recognises and respects the rights of persons with disabilities, ‘individually enforceable rights’ or rather ‘principles’ - policy optimization commands that need implementation?

Rights of the elderly and rights of persons with disabilities are clearly enforceable rights as in practice they always refer to one particular person.
Rights of the elderly and rights of persons with disabilities are examples of provisions that are both enforceable rights (everybody can rely on them) and also principles that should be implemented by legislative and executive acts.
Rights of the elderly and rights of persons with disabilities are rather the example of principles, not directly enforceable rights, as they need implementation in other legislative and executive acts.

Principles provide a different level of protection and have a different meaning than rights; they are rather understood as policy optimization commands and need implementation.

The CJEU established criteria for a direct effect (test).

Provision must be:

- intended to confer rights to individuals,

- clear and precise,

- unconditional.

The test must be carried out on a case by case approach.

The provisions of Art. 25 and 26 do not have such a character.

These provisions need implementation by other legislative and executive acts of the EU organs or Member States, when they are implementing Union law. In case of doubts as to the legal effect of principles the solution might be found in submitting a reference for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the EU (see Glatzel case 356/12).

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