ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the researchers from the fields of international human rights law, European Union (EU) law and constitutional law to reflect on the tug-of-war over the positioning of the centre of gravity of human rights protection in Europe, addressing only the position of the Convention system vis-à-vis the Contracting States, but also its positioning vis-à-vis fundamental rights protection in the EU. It argues that the Court is an international court with constitutional functions in the national legal orders and that it should therefore be subject to constitutional standards adapted to its status as an international court. It argues that while the ECJ rarely refers explicitly to a ‘margin of appreciation’, it does apply a comparable margin of discretion method in situations where fundamental rights and EU free movement rights come into conflict.
