CYIL vol. 11 (2020)

CYIL 11 (2020)

ANALYSING THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS MESSIAH

Analysing the Fundamental Rights Messiah

Review Article on the Edited Book SVOBODOVÁ, Magdaléna; SCHEU Harald Christian; GRINC, Jan (eds.): EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: 10 year in the practice – evaluation and prospective views Praha: Auditorium, 2019, 267 p., ISBN 978-80-87284-78-0* 1. Introduction – edited volume as welcomed transplantation of the European discourse to Czech academia The evaluated edited book deals with a topic that represents one of the key issues of EU law of the last decade(s). Despite the fact that recently the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the EU Charter) has been somewhat overshadowed by Brexit, the migration crisis, or the crisis of the rule of law, this document (which celebrated 10 years of binding force in December 2019) definitely deserves our attention as a critical part of EU constitutional developments. Therefore, it is much appreciated, that Magdaléna Svobodová and her colleagues from the Faculty of Law, Charles University in Prague, decided to analyse this document and primarily it’s influence in practice. The EU Charter has the potential to change the interpretation and understanding of individual fundamental rights and the system of their protection, as a whole, it enriches the discourse at both the European and Member State level. The evaluated book is one of the first comprehensive texts in the Czech research space (apart from the special issue of AUC – Iuridica No. 4/2018), which deals with the topic of the EU Charter, and thus it presents a valuable transfer of European discourse to the Czech environment. 2. The book with added value The Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Charter) represents one of the most important milestones in the development of EU law. Since 2000, when it was created, it has become one of the main themes of doctrinal discourse. Over the past 15 years the doctrine has created an enormous amount of studies, texts, books, and articles devoted to this document. Among the key publications dedicated to the Charter belongs to a commentary by Peers, Hervey (eds): The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. A Commentary, 2014; and a number of collective monographs and edited books, e.g. Peers, Ward (eds): The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – Politics, Law and Policy, 2004; Feus (ed.): The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – text and commentaries, 2000; Di Federico (ed): The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – From Declaration to Binding Instrument, 2011; Menéndez (ed): Chartering Europe, 2000; Schönlau: Drafting the EU Charter, 2005; Kerikmäe (ed.): Protecting Human Rights in the EU – Controversies and Challenges of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, 2014; Harvey, Kenner (eds): Economic and Social Rights under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – A Legal Perspective, 2003; Vries, Bernitz, * Published in Czech language with original Czech title: Listina základních práv Evropské unie: deset let v praxi – hodnocení a výhled.

515