Relationship Between European Court of Justice & Court of Human Rights Relationship
The Court of Justice is separate from the European Court of Human Rights. The latter is based in Strasbourg as part of the Council of Europe. Since 1950, it has supervised compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights and thus functions as the highest European court for human rights and fundamental freedoms. All European Union members are members of the Council of Europe and have signed the Convention on Human Rights. There are concerns about consistency in case law between the two courts. Hence the Court of Justice refers to the case-law of the Court of Human Rights and treats the Convention on Human Rights as thought it was part of the European Union ‘s legal system. Even though its members have joined, the European Union as a whole has not, as it does not have competence to do so under the current treaties. However, the European Union institutions are bound under article 6 of the European Union treaty to respect human rights under the Convention. Furthermore, if the Treaty of Lisbon is ratified, the European Union is expected to sign the Convention. This would make the Court of Justice bound by the Court of Human Rights and subject to its human rights law. This would solve the problem of conflicting case law.