The charter of fundamental rights of the European Union as an instrument of judicial Europeanisation

english

2025

case law   Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union   constitutional court   judicial Europeanisation   Slovenia

Fakulteta za slovenske in mednarodne študije v Kranju
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

the article examines whether and how the charter of Fun-damental rights of the European Union, as an autonomous source of EU primary law, can function as an instrument ofjudicial Europeanisation at the national level. Although the charter became legally binding with the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, its effects on national—particularly consti-tutional—courts remain relatively understudied. to address this gap, the article develops an analytical framework con-sisting of four dimensions—doctrinal, institutional, normative, and discursive—conceived as a model for empirical studiesof charter-driven judicial Europeanisation. the usefulness of this framework is tested through an analysis of two decisions of the slovenian constitutional court that engage with EU law and, in that context, with the charter. While the examina-tion of only two decisions does not permit even partial, let alone comprehensive, conclusions regarding the Europeani-sation of constitutional adjudication through the charter, the findings suggest that the charter can influence the reasoning of the slovenian constitutional court and that the proposed framework identifies the presence of four dimensions in both decisions analysed. the analytical framework thus helps to identify the possible pathways through which the charter may influence and co-shape constitutional adjudication.

06.07.2026