The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - The role of the Court of Justice in the Jurisdiction of Fundamental Rights

Abstract

The original text of the Treaties establishing the three European communities did not include any reference to the protection of fundamental rights. The original EU law was intended to be more of a "bill of powers" than a "bill of rights". It was understood that, that wasn’t the subject of the founding treaties of communities, they were on the one hand, on the constitutions of Member States and on the other as part of the attributions of the Council of Europe.