The Centre for Judicial Cooperation of the EUI invites you to a discussion on judging fundamental rights in Covid-19 times with two judges Aniel Pahladsingh, EU lawyer Dutch Council of State and deputy judge district court Rotterdam and Pierpaolo Gori judge from the Italian Supreme Court who have authored a paper entitled Fundamental rights under Covid-19: an European perspective on videoconferencing in court . This article addresses how the Covid-19 outbreak has challenged long-established legal procedures, the material functioning of the Court and the rule of law itself.
The speakers will focus on how judicial interactions have been used by domestic courts as a tool to clarify fundamental rights, paying specific attention to the EU Charter of fundamental rights. While the Charter’s entry into force slightly more than 10 years ago allowed legal practitioners to explore the potential of a bill of rights in the resolution of cases involving a violation of fundamental rights, it did not go as planned. Questions emerged throughout this period such as: what is the scope of application of the EU Charter? what is the relationship of EU Charter’s rights with the general principles of EU law, the ECHR, and national Constitutions?; and what are the different forms of justiciability of its provisions?
The presentation will highlight the added value of judicial cooperation among European and national courts, and reveal how judicial interaction techniques pursued by courts and judges have not only solved issues of normative or judicial interpretation, but also ensured coherence and coordination among different legal and judicial systems in safeguarding human rights.