The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the right to defend oneself

Abstract

A study is presented into the right of defence in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union with regard to the European Convention and the Spanish Constitution, in order to establish, on the basis of this premise, the existence of two fundamental rights, a fundamental right to receive professional defence, and a second fundamental right, which is composed, in association with other rights, of the possibility of defending oneself. The enforcement of the Charter by the Court of Justice of the European Union and by the European Court of Human Rights is examined, at different times in its history, up until its integration into the Lisbon Treaty, through which the provisions of the Charter form part of the primary legislation of the Union. Lastly, the manifestations of the right to defend oneself are examined, and in particular the right not to incriminate oneself in the caselaw of the CJEU and the ECHR.