CFR — EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

What is the CFR?

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR) is the EU's bill of fundamental rights and has been legally binding since the Treaty of Lisbon (2009). It binds all institutions and bodies of the EU as well as the member states when they implement EU law — and therefore also when they apply the European Arrest Warrant.

Relevant articles in extradition law

Article 4 CFR (prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment) corresponds to Article 3 ECHR and applies in absolute terms. It is the most important fundamental-rights benchmark when reviewing detention conditions in the issuing state. Article 47 CFR guarantees the right to an effective remedy and a fair trial. Article 50 CFR codifies the principle of double jeopardy (ne bis in idem) in EU legal matters.

Relationship to the ECHR and the Basic Law

Within the scope of EU law — in particular in EAW cases — the CFR provides an autonomous protection of fundamental rights. Under Article 52(3) CFR, the level of protection for corresponding ECHR rights may not fall below the ECHR level, but it may be higher. The Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) regards itself as the guardian of the core content of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz, GG) even vis-à-vis EU law.

Case law of the ECJ

In numerous preliminary-ruling proceedings, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has given concrete shape to the CFR's standard of protection in the EAW context: Aranyosi/Căldăraru on Article 4, LM on Article 47, Piotrowski on Article 50. These judgments are directly authoritative for German extradition-law practice.

← Back to the glossary index