The Use of ECtHR Case Law by the Court of Justice after Lisbon

Abstract

This article examines how and why the Court of Justice examines and cites the case law of the ECtHR after the entry into force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in 2009. The Court's practice will be sketched on the basis of 20 interviews with judges, référendaires and Advocates General at the Court of Justice. It will be shown that the Court of Justice has examined and cited the Strasbourg case law less frequently and extensively. Several reasons will be given for this, primarily on the basis of the observations of the interviewees as to their readiness to cite the Strasbourg case law. This includes a growing awareness that both courts are different as well as strategic reasons related to the wish to develop an autonomous interpretation of the Charter.