The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is a document containing human rights provisions, 'solemnly proclaimed' by the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission in December 2000. The European Parliament is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. ... The Council of the European Union forms, along with the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union (EU). ... The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive body of the European Union. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

minibook published by the European Union containing the text of the Charter

minibook of Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... minibook of Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

Origin

After the European Court of Justice decided (Opinion 2/94 "Accession by the Community to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms" of 28 March 1996) that, in essence, the treaties establishing the European Community do not empower it to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights (this despite all member states being signatories), the aforementioned three institutions of the European Union decided that this is the appropriate format (for the moment) of presenting the fundamental principles of human rights for the Union. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is formally known as the Court of Justice of the European Communities, i. ... March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in Leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The European Community (EC), most important of three European Communities, was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ... The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, also known as the European Convention on Human Rights, was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe in 1950 to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. ...

Status

As it stands, the Charter is not a treaty, constitutional, or legal document, and has the ambiguous value of a 'solemn proclamation' by three of the Union's most important institutions. Its text is mainly in harmony with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, and therefore can be taken as a confirmation of the pre-existing rights contained therein by the institutions, while adding widely-accepted principles such as the 'right' to good administration, workers' social rights, and bioethics. The origin of the Charter's 'power' is unlikely to be beyond that the proclaiming institutions (and other related institutions such as the European Court of Justice) are going to contradict the Charter and that common law, Community law, and case law are generally in harmony with it. It does not have the status of Community law; therefore, cases cannot be brought solely on the ground of a contradiction against the Charter. A treaty is a binding agreement under international law concluded by subjects of international law, namely states and international organizations. ... Law (from the Old Norse lagu) in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, intended to provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments of/for those who do... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (also UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, December 10, 1948), outlining the organisations view on the human rights guaranteed to all people. ... The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, also known as the European Convention on Human Rights, was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe in 1950 to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. ... The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is formally known as the Court of Justice of the European Communities, i. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... The European Union is unique among international organizations in having a complex and highly developed system of internal law which has direct effect within the legal systems of its member states. ... Case law (precedential law) is the body of judge-made law and legal decisions that interprets prior case law, statutes and other legal authority -- including doctrinal writings by legal scholars such as the Corpus Juris Secundum, Halsburys Laws of England or the doctinal writings found in the Recueil Dalloz... The European Union is unique among international organizations in having a complex and highly developed system of internal law which has direct effect within the legal systems of its member states. ...

Notable provisions

The Charter is organized into 6 titles: dignity, freedoms, equality, solidarity, citizens' rights, and justice. The second, third, and fourth rubrics reflect the three generations of human rights after Karel Vasak. Dignity in humans involves the earning or the expectation of personal respect or of esteem. ... Statue of Liberty - Liberty is one meaning of freedom. Definition Freedom refers in a very general sense to the state of being free (unrestricted, unconfined or unfettered). ... Social equality is a social state of affairs in which certain different people have the same status in a certain respect. ... Solidarity (Polish: Solidarność; full name: Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarity — Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy Solidarność) is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyards, and originally led by Lech Wałęsa. ... The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ... For the direction right, see left and right or starboard. ... Justice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The division of human rights into three generations was initially proposed in 1979 by the Czech jurist Karel Vasak at the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg. ... Karel Vasak was a Czechoslovakian international official and university professor. ...

• (Article 3) Prohibition of reproductive cloning of human beings
• (Article 53) 'Nothing in this Charter shall be interpreted as restricting or adversely affecting human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognised, in their respective fields of application, by Union law and international law and by international agreements to which the Union, the Community or all the Member States are party, including the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and by the Member States' constitutions.'

Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of an existing, or previously existing human or growing cloned tissue from that individual. ... The European Convention on Human Rights (1950) was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe† to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. ...

External links

• European Parliament's explanation on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
• Full text of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union from the Council of the European Union
• Everything you want to know about the Charter
• Article-by-Article guide to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights