This was the winning essay in the King’s Bench Essay Prize 2008.

“[E]ven if, in the areas which fall outside the scope of the Community’s competence, the Member States are still free, in principle, to lay down the conditions governing the existence and exercise of the rights in question, the fact remains that, when exercising that competence,…Member States must nevertheless comply with Community law” [1]. This recent assertion by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is yet another illustration of burgeoning judicial and academic initiatives seeking to define the contours of the European Union’s respect of fundamental human rights (FHRs). Nevertheless, this initiative has been disputed, and therefore we must take note of the explicit steps that recent case-law has taken to ensure some EU protection of fundamental human rights. In this rather limited study, we shall therefore address the question of a necessity for such protection in the EU, examining only the paradigmatic debate regarding civil, social and political rights. This shall exclude the semantic debate as to the distinction of “fundamental” versus “human” rights, the former possibly designating the so-called “fundamental freedoms” protected by the EC Treaty. ‘EU’ law denotes all three pillars of the Union structure, and whilst the second and third pillars mainly concern intergovernmental action, through which Member States must respect their obligations under human rights treaties, we shall argue that the possible infringement of right by EU law as a whole necessitates protection. Finally, the notion of “need” rather than “should”, which is not neutral, seeks proof of an objective necessity for the EU legal order to include such a protection, a necessity recognised by positive law. Despite doubts as to the appropriateness of human rights protection at the EU level, the potential for human rights infringement (I) demands that EU law ensure human rights protection (II). Continue reading “Does EU law need to protect fundamental human rights?”

This essay placed second in the King’s Bench Essay Prize 2008.

Although the protection of fundamental human rights has occupied a progressively high status within the European Union, its development within the framework of EU law has been subject to a number of criticisms. A degree of scepticism exists regarding the European Court of Justice’s ability to enforce an adequate system of human rights protection within an entity primarily established as an economic institution. The ECJ has been criticised for attempting to act as another Human Rights Court, when the Strasbourg Court was already created with an express human rights jurisdiction. Similarly, it is argued that the ECJ has attempted to widen Community competences “through the back-door” by manipulating the rhetorical force of human rights to advance the commercial goals of the common market. This article seeks to demonstrate that these concerns only reinforce the necessity for a fully-fledged policy of human rights protection within the EU. A stronger commitment to ensure respect for fundamental human rights would provide the EU with the ethical foundations it has lacked as a result of its origins as a common market. This is reinforced in that the 2007 Reform Treaty confers legally binding status to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and authorises the EU to acquire international legal personality. This allows for EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, which would ensure consistency in the interpretation and application of human rights, whilst strengthening and legitimising their place within EU law. Continue reading “Does EU law need to protect fundamental human rights?”

This essay placed third in the King’s Bench Essay Prize 2007-2008.

This is a question that has three aspects to it. One avenue, that this question leads us towards, is whether human rights protection through the EU is excessive and unnecessary. Citizens of the European Union are already able to call upon rights granted by the European Convention on Human Rights. However, there also exists a European Charter on Human Rights. We can examine the requirement for additional protections, and find out if there is any gain to be made from having these as a part of the substantive European Union law. Another issue, which is more broad in nature, is to explore the correctness of interventions of the EU into matters such as these and the third aspect is the idea that the EU is compelled to protect fundamental human rights. The intention of this essay is to explore each one of these and it commences with the first matter stated above. Continue reading “Does EU law need to protect fundamental human rights?”

We are happy to announce that Ravi Mehta has won the inaugural King’s Bench Essay Prize. Catherine Greenwood and Dominic Hatje came second and third respectively. Ravi has won an internship with our sponsors, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a £150 cash prize and a trophy. His winning essay will be published in the next issue of King’s Bench. Catherine and Dominic have been awarded prizes of £60 and £40 respectively. All three essays can be found on this website.

Professor Alan Dashwood, who judged the competition, announced the prizes at a small reception held at the Luncheon Room of the Inner Temple on March 19, 2008. We thank all those who submitted entries and look forward to launching the 2008/2009 competition in late September.

Stretch the breadth of your intellect and offer us the results! King’s Bench Magazine, in association with Weil, Gotshal & Manges, has just launched its inaugural annual essay competition. Here is your opportunity to get involved.

The prize is an award for an essay of outstanding quality by a King’s College, London undergraduate or postgraduate student on a title set by the current KB editorial team. It will be judged by Professor Alan Dashwood, formerly Director in the Legal Service of the Council of the European Union and the founding editor of the European Law Review.

The Essay Title – ‘Does EU law need to protect fundamental human rights?’

The winner will receive one week’s work experience with Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a £150 cash prize, a trophy and publication of their essay. The runners-up will also receive cash prizes and will have their work published on our website.

Essays, a maximum of 2,000 words length (including footnotes), should be typed in size 12 Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and should include the name and year of study of the author in a headnote. Submissions must be sent as an email attachment to no later than 12pm on Friday February 15.

Please email me at if you have any questions. Otherwise get writing!