Fundamental Rights in the European Union: Main Principles and Contemporary Challenges

The Treaty of Rome made no mention of human rights. Six decades later, fundamental rights are consecrated as one of the core values of the European Union and fundamental rights protection is a major concern in all the EU policy areas. Public administrations (whether EU or national) as well as private companies are expected to respect human rights and are closely watched in this respect by courts, EU institutions, shareholders, investors, and civil society.

This course proposes to explain the legal and policy system that the EU has established over the years to protect and promote fundamental rights, to a point where fundamental rights have become relevant to all aspects of economic and social activities in the EU.

We will first discuss the place of fundamental rights in the EU system of legal norms and explain their role as a mechanism to control the legality of EU policies and instruments vis-à-vis individuals, whether exercised by the EU or indirectly by Member States. We will pay close attention to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, highlighting the breadth of its scope and the innovative nature of many of the rights it enshrines. The efforts undertaken both by the EU decision-making institutions and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) to make the Charter effective will be examined.

We will also analyse the relationship of EU fundamental rights to other sets of legal rules (the internal market, the area of freedom, security, and justice) and other legal systems: we will discuss the state of play regarding the EU’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, and we will also look at how the EU promotes the protection of human rights on a global scale.

To provide for a practical perspective, we will introduce throughout the course certain specific examples of fundamental rights: the prohibition on discrimination, the right to the protection of personal data, the prohibition on torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, and the duties of private companies with regard to human rights due diligence.

What you will learn

At the end of this course, participants will have a good understanding of

• EU legal and policy concepts related to fundamental rights;
• the legal obligations to integrate and mainstream fundamental rights protection of individuals and ensuring the effectiveness of this protection across all EU policy areas, in both the public and the private sectors.

Alternating with presentations by the trainers, spaces will be provided for interactive discussion of, and engagement with, principles and concepts related to fundamental rights based on concrete case studies.

The course is designed to meet the needs of EU and government officials as well as professionals in the private sector, who are interested in the EU system of protection of fundamental rights and whose work requires awareness of, and knowledge on, a variety of policy areas (e.g. equal treatment and non-discrimination, justice and home affairs, external relations and conditionality) where legal issues concerning the respect and observance of EU fundamental rights has salience. Familiarity with EU law is an advantage.

Prior to the course, you will be given access to the course materials on our digital learning platform. This includes a short questionnaire, which will help us identify any specific questions you may have so we can consider as many of them as possible during the course.

Preparatory reading and materials will be available on the platform to facilitate joining the course. All course materials will be made available for the participants.

After the event, additional materials and references to relevant literature, documents, and websites will be accessible on our learning platform.

People who need to understand the logics of EU fundamental rights protection and the recent developments in this area: legal practitioners, government officials, NGO staff and administrators and officers from EU institutions and agencies, and legal and compliance staff in the private sector.

Project number: 2451801

Course venue
European Centre for Judges and Lawyers – EIPA Luxembourg
8 rue Nicolas Adames
1114 Luxembourg

Project Management Officer
Ms Belinda Vetter
Tel: +31 43 3296382
b.vetter@eipa.eu

Project Officer
Ms Georgia Robertson
+31 (0)43 3296 209
g.robertson@eipa.eu

Fee
The fee includes documentation, refreshments and lunches. Accommodation and travel costs are at the expense of the participants or their administration.

Discounts
EIPA member fee
EIPA offers a discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency.

Who are the supporting countries?
Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

Early bird discount
The early bird discount is not cumulative with other discounts or promo codes, except for the EIPA member fee.

Loyalty coupon
As a token of appreciation we offer all our participants a loyalty coupon for one of our future courses. The offer can be shared with colleagues and relevant networks. The coupon will expire one year after its release. This discount is not cumulative with other discounts, except for the EIPA member fee.

Meals
Dietary preferences can be indicated on the registration form.

Hotel reservations
EIPA has special price arrangements with a number of hotels. Most rates are including breakfast and tourist tax. Should you wish to make use of this possibility, please book directly via the links below. Payment is to be made directly and personally to the hotel upon checking out.

Kirchberg

• Hotel D’Coque***, via https://www.coque.lu/coque-hotel-superior/online-booking, tel.: +352 43 60 60 222

Luxembourg Centre

• Hotel Parc Plaza****, at the rate of €182, (Reservation code: EIPA0118): https://www.goereshotels.com/parc-plaza-en
• Hotel Parc Bellevue***, at the rate of €150, (Reservation code: EIPA0118): https://www.goereshotels.com/belle-vue-en: +352 44 23 23 23 23; e-mail: reservation@goereshotels.com;
• Hotel Simoncini****, at the rate of €190, tel.: +352 22 28 44; e-mail: simhotel@pt.lu or simoncinihotel@pt.lu; https://www.hotelsimoncini.lu/.

Confirmation
Confirmation of registration will be forwarded to participants on receipt of the completed online registration form.

Payment
Prior payment is a condition for participation.

Cancellation policy
For administrative reasons you will be charged €150 for cancellations received within 15 days before the activity begins. There is no charge for qualified substitute participants. EIPA reserves the right to cancel the activity up to 2 weeks before the starting date. In that case, registration fees received will be fully reimbursed. EIPA accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred (travel, accommodation, etc.).

A few days before the start of the course you will receive the log-in details for accessing the course materials. You can log in here.