Fundamental rights and the rule of law in Europe (based on current case law of the European courts)

In 1956 the republic of Austria joined the Council of Europe, in 1995 followed the accession to the European Union. This long standing European entrenchment into the European structures has very concrete implications for the citizens of Austria but also for its judges. Both international organisations concerned - the Council of Europe as well as the EU - dispose over strong judicial mechanisms. And both European Courts - the Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg (ECtHR) as well as the European Union Court of Justice in Luxembourg (CJEU) - developed an impressive case law that codesigned national legal systems. On the basis of this case law the essence of European Union law and the character of European human rights law can be accessed and understood. Looking at these two areas of law through the cases of the Strasbourg and Luxembourg Courts allows for an interesting insight into how the European and the national layer of governance interact. The seminar will start off with a description and analysis of the judicial systems of both the Council of Europe and the EU. What will follow is a presentation and discussion of the most interesting cases that originated in Austria but were (co-)decided in Strasbourg/Luxembourg. In this way the seminar will show how immediate the legal and political effects of European integration are, how interesting law can be and, last but not least, how important eventually cases originating from Austria are for the overall development of the European legal order.