What is an important difference between the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in relation to their roles and functions?
What is an important difference between the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in relation to their roles and functions?
The CJEU can force national governments to implement and honor EU law, while the ECHR cannot. The CJEU ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied consistently across all member states and has the authority to compel compliance. In contrast, the ECHR deals with violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and can issue judgments on such violations, but it does not have the same enforcement power as the CJEU regarding compliance by national governments.
The Court ensures that EU law is followed, and that the Treaties are correctly interpreted and applied: it reviews the legality of the acts of the EU institutions, ensures that EU countries comply with their obligations under the Treaties, and interprets EU law at the request of national courts.
B. CJEU can force national governments to implement and honor EU law, while the ECHR cannot. The CJEU ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied uniformly across all EU member states and can compel national governments to comply with EU law. It has the authority to rule on cases brought by the European Commission or member states regarding the implementation and enforcement of EU law. On the other hand, the ECHR deals with violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. It can hear complaints from individuals or states about violations of the Convention by its signatory countries. However, its judgments are not directly enforceable in the same way as those of the CJEU, and it cannot compel national governments to implement its decisions, though its rulings do carry significant moral and political weight.