Federico Fabbrini
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198702047
- eISBN:
- 9780191771712
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198702047.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, EU Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This book deals with the protection of fundamental rights in Europe. Today, in Europe, fundamental rights are simultaneously protected at the levels of the states, the European Union, and the ...
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This book deals with the protection of fundamental rights in Europe. Today, in Europe, fundamental rights are simultaneously protected at the levels of the states, the European Union, and the European Convention on Human Rights. What are the implications of this multilevel architecture for multilevel constitutionalism? To answer this question, the book develops a comparison with the federal system of the United States. From a comparative law perspective, the book advances a model of the constitutional dynamics at play in a multi-layered regime. It identifies two recurrent challenges in the interplay between different state and transnational human rights standards—a challenge of ineffectiveness and a challenge of inconsistency. It explains that these challenges arise when transnational law operates either as a floor or as a ceiling of protection for a specific human right. In addition, it maps the most important transformations taking place in the European system and assesses their impact on these challenges. The book considers four case studies. First, the right to due process for suspected terrorists; secondly, the right to vote for non-citizens; thirdly, the right to strike; and, fourthly, the right to abortion. On the basis of these case studies, the book reconsiders the main scholarly theories on the protection of fundamental rights in Europe: sovereigntism and pluralism. It questions their validity and claims that steps need to be taken toward a new theoretical framework, which—for its capacity to reconcile the dilemmas of identity, equality, and supremacy—will take the form of a “neo-federal” vision.Less
This book deals with the protection of fundamental rights in Europe. Today, in Europe, fundamental rights are simultaneously protected at the levels of the states, the European Union, and the European Convention on Human Rights. What are the implications of this multilevel architecture for multilevel constitutionalism? To answer this question, the book develops a comparison with the federal system of the United States. From a comparative law perspective, the book advances a model of the constitutional dynamics at play in a multi-layered regime. It identifies two recurrent challenges in the interplay between different state and transnational human rights standards—a challenge of ineffectiveness and a challenge of inconsistency. It explains that these challenges arise when transnational law operates either as a floor or as a ceiling of protection for a specific human right. In addition, it maps the most important transformations taking place in the European system and assesses their impact on these challenges. The book considers four case studies. First, the right to due process for suspected terrorists; secondly, the right to vote for non-citizens; thirdly, the right to strike; and, fourthly, the right to abortion. On the basis of these case studies, the book reconsiders the main scholarly theories on the protection of fundamental rights in Europe: sovereigntism and pluralism. It questions their validity and claims that steps need to be taken toward a new theoretical framework, which—for its capacity to reconcile the dilemmas of identity, equality, and supremacy—will take the form of a “neo-federal” vision.
