For nearly fifteen years, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights has carried the same legal weight as the EU’s founding treaties. From a human rights perspective, the Charter is a significant tool, yet Estonian lawyers and attorneys seldom refer to it. To raise awareness of the Charter in Estonia, the Estonian Human Rights Centre (EHRC) is organizing a training session.

One of the key achievements of the European Union is the binding status of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which came into force with the Lisbon Treaty on December 1, 2009. Although the Charter has been legally binding for all member states for 15 years, studies conducted by the Human Rights Centre indicate that awareness of its existence among Estonian lawyers and attorneys remains low. Furthermore, it was revealed that over the past five years (from September 1, 2018, to August 31, 2023), the Supreme Court and Circuit Courts referenced the Charter in only 26 cases. Summaries of these rulings and the full text of the Charter are available to the public on our website.

“Our analysis shows that the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is underutilized in the Estonian legal system, often due to a lack of awareness regarding its exact scope of application. This creates significant confusion and hinders the Charter’s full implementation,” says Egert Rünne, Director of the Human Rights Centre. “Full implementation of the Charter would help protect everyone’s fundamental rights. Raising awareness of this is central to the Human Rights Centre’s goal of creating an Estonia where human rights are valued, guaranteed by the state, and where every person knows that their rights, as well as the rights of others, deserve protection.”

In cooperation with the European Commission, EHRC is working to change this situation. At the end of September, a training session for lawyers and attorneys will be held, featuring Julia Laffranque, a judge of the Supreme Court’s Administrative and Constitutional Review Chambers, who will explain the nature of the Charter and its enforceability within the Estonian legal system.

The activities aimed at raising awareness of the Charter are co-financed by the European Union for Fundamental Freedoms through funding from the European Commission.