The drafting of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights

Publishers Abstract
In this article, the unusual process by which the E.U. Charter of Fundamental Rights was drafted is examined. While the process, on the one hand, exemplified the ambivalent and often contradictory nature of European Union constitutional development, on the other hand it also suggests interesting possibilities in terms of new and future forms of constitution-building in Europe.

Despite the profound differences of view about the aim, scope and nature of the Charter-drafting process even amongst the central actors involved in the drafting, and despite the ongoing ambivalence about the role and significance of fundamental and human rights in European Union law, the experimental, relatively deliberative and open nature of the process contrasts quite sharply and favourably with the traditional State-dominated and secretive IGC bargaining process.

Sweet and Maxwell: European Law Review http://www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk/catalogue/productdetails.aspx?recordid=427&productid=6968

EU Charter of Fundamental Rights http://ec.europa.eu/justice/fundamental-rights/charter/index_en.htm

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