The Relationship between the Two European Courts and the Accession to the European Convention on Human Rights

Abstract

After decades of discussion, the Lisbon Treaty has placed on the Union an obligation to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and has given an explicit competence to the European Union (EU) institutions to accede to this system. After accession, the relationship between the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will be formal based on system of direct complaints and indirect complaints. The first section of this chapter traces the origins and the long path followed by the EU to accede to the ECHR. The second section focuses on the relationship between the two Courts, i.e. the ECtHR and the CJEU, in light of the Strasbourg case law and Luxembourg case law. The Draft Accession Agreement provides that the procedure before the CJEU is to be conducted in accordance with internal rules of the EU.Keywords: CJEU; Draft Accession Agreement; ECHR; ECtHR; European Convention; European Union (EU); human rights; Luxembourg case law; Strasbourg case law