The ‘autonomization’ of EU fundamental rights protection: Insights into the recent ECJ case law on Article 52(3) CFR

Abstract

In a new line of case law on the interpretation and application of Article 52(3) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Court of Justice has explicitly applied the autonomy of EU law in the field of fundamental rights protection by referring to the non-binding Explanations relating to Article 52(3) CFR. According to these Explanations, Article 52(3) CFR has the purpose to ensure the consistency of the interpretation of the Charter with the European Convention on Human Rights, without ‘adversely affecting the autonomy of Union law and of that of the Court of Justice of the European Union’. Since the Grand Chamber judgment in N. (C-601/15 PPU, 15 February 2016), 23 cases have subsequently made this same reference to the autonomy of EU law when applying Article 52(3) CFR. The main point of this article is to showcase how the ECJ uses the Explanations in this line of case law as an instrument to establish an autonomous interpretation of the fundamental rights of the CFR, which are influenced, but not fully determined, by the ECHR.