Shaping European Society through Constitutional Law and Access to Justice

ongoing

Article 2 TEU enshrines fundamental values that unify the otherwise heterogeneous, tangled EU social and political fabric. Their defence and study become increasingly relevant in light of contemporary crises – the Euro, migrations, pandemic, wars and rule of law challenges. The CJEU, in key rulings against Hungary and Poland, has affirmed that these values “define the very identity of the European Union as a common legal order”. Yet, a growing detachment between these purportedly “top-down” values and EU citizens threatens their legitimacy, particularly amid global uncertainties. This Chair seeks to bridge the gap by conceptualising the “society” of Article 2 TEU – a European “society” – as the keystone of EU integration, to be built through a bottom-up trend, led by cooperative dialogue between courts at various levels of jurisdiction. Understanding constitutional foundations, implications for active European citizenship and limits, too, of such a peculiar “collective singular” concept is thus essential. This mission is hereby proposed to be pursued through academic research – in particular, through the lens of constitutional law. In such perspective, among the different values, a core one is access to justice and effective judicial protection, described by the CJEU as “the essence of the rule of law”. It is both a right in itself and a tool for safeguarding other rights, requiring careful analysis of interactions across EU, CoE, national and international systems. The Chair aims to foster EU studies and build a multidisciplinary, transnational network of excellence on these themes. It will engage civil society and institutional actors, raise awareness and promote informed democratic participation at all levels. For this, it will offer courses, seminars, roundtables and calls for papers, open also to civil society and younger students. These initiatives will ensure academic engagement, public outreach, and the reinforcement of EU constitutional values.