THE SCOPE OF APPLICATION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS GUARANTEED BY EUROPEAN UNION LAW ON MEMBER STATES' ACTION. SOME JURISPRUDENTIAL LANDMARKS

Constanţa MĂTUŞESCU

In the European Union legal order, there exists a long standing problem to define in which circumstances the fundamental rights of the European Union have a binding effect on member states. The Court of Justice of the European Union has through its case-law tried to resolve this issue, establishing that fundamental rights guaranteed by the Union are intended to be applied in all situations governed by Union law. However, it is not always clear when and whether national authorities are acting within the scope of Union law. The jurisprudence, including the most recent case, maintains a number of ambiguities, particularly with regard to the applicability of EU fundamental rights to national measures which target a field also covered by the Union law, even if they do not intend to implement EU law. Making a brief overview of this jurisprudence, the paper focuses on identifying the major line of cases and the conditions under which a national measure is considered to fall within the scope of Union law by attracting the application of the Union’s standards of protection.

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