Acceso usuarios
With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Union has been granted supranational competence in criminal law matters in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. Gaps in the judicial protection that affected the third pillar have been partially resolved. Moreover, the EU Fundamental Rights Charter has become officially binding. These two novel aspects of the European legal order are closely linked. The relationship between the Charter and EU criminal law pertains mainly to the judicial protection of natural and legal persons. If indeed the Charter, taking its interpretative clauses seriously, cannot lead to the establishment of new powers for the Union, one may ask to what extent citizens are able to refer to it before a judge. If the Charter merely "reaffirms" existing rights, the main question is whether the Charter provides an advantage to citizens facing criminal justice and whether it can be interpreted autonomously from other sources of EU fundamental rights and maybe become the principal (European) constitutional guarantee for the protection of citizens' fundamental rights in criminal proceedings.
