The Horizontal Effect of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Rediscovering the Reasons for Horizontality

Frantziou, E.

Abstract

This article analyses the horizontal effect of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Horizontal effect has been an integral part of the Union's application of fundamental rights, especially in the field of equality. However, the codification of fundamental rights in the Charter raises important questions as to how horizontal effect will continue to apply in the EU, particularly in the aftermath of the Court's reticent rulings in cases such as Dominguez and Association de Médiation Sociale. This article argues that the emphasis on prior approaches to horizontal effect in recent rulings fails to address the profound constitutional issues that the horizontal effect of a fundamental rights catalogue raises, which concern the role of private responsibility within the developing constitutional order of the European Union. It therefore calls for a more systematically theorised approach towards the horizontal application of fundamental rights under the Charter framework.

Citation

Frantziou, E. (2015). The Horizontal Effect of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Rediscovering the Reasons for Horizontality. European Law Journal: Review of European Law in Context, 21(5), 657-679. https://doi.org/10.1111/eulj.12137

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 1, 2015
• Online Publication Date: May 4, 2015
• Publication Date: 2015-09
• Deposit Date: Sep 20, 2018
• Journal: European Law Journal
• Print ISSN: 1351-5993
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-0386
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 657-679
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eulj.12137
• Related Public URLs: https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/9qw52/the-horizontal-effect-of-the-eu-charter-of-fundamental-rights-rediscovering-the-reasons-for-horizontality