Trends and patterns in preliminary references in courts of Romania. Issues related to the charter of fundamental rights of the European Union and the European convention on human rights

Abstract

The case-law of the courts of Romania reveals significant disparities concerning interpretation and application of the two main European sources in the field of human rights - the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights. That is the reason that the present chapter deals with case-law of Romanian courts concerning the said issue raised in requests for a preliminary ruling, covering both references for a preliminary ruling and judgments rendered by courts of Romania in which those courts rejected such requests. The subject-matter is liable to trigger a heated debate about limits of powers and their exercise by courts in relation to references involving the application of different legal standards - national law, European Union law and the European Convention on Human Rights.