The right to a fair trial in the EU: lights and shadows

Abstract

This Article is focused on one of the rights provided for by Article 47 of the Charter, the right to a fair trial. It is not a new contribution of the Charter but a guarantee which has been provided by EU Law for decades. It first appeared as a procedural right, was later recognized as a general principle of the EU and was finally embodied in the Charter. Consequently this work recalls that process of recognition, paying special attention to the judicial remedies provided by EU law and to some specific rules of secondary —competition— law which affect the context on which the right to a fair trial is developed. The article concludes by underlining, on the one hand, the improvements on the right to a fair trial brought about by this legal process and, on the other hand, a few gaps on the issue which are neither recent nor consistent with the effectiveness and completeness of such right as it is required by the Rule of Law tradition.