Do the provisions of the EUCFR produce a horizontal effect? - In the light of the court's ruling in case C-176/12

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Law - European and International Law, Intellectual Properties, Maastricht University (Faculty of Law), course: EU Law Foundations, language: English, abstract: This paper deals with one of the most controversial issues of recent years; the horizontal application of EU fundamental rights. The growing importance of fundamental rights within the European Integration becomes especially noticeable in their increasing textualization. In 1969 the European Court of Justice in Cases showed for the first time sensitivity for Fundamental Rights in the Stauder-Case. One of the most controversial issues of recent years is the horizontal application of EU fun-damental rights. It is questionable whether fundamental rights can have an impact on private law relationships and more precisely, to what extent they are directly applicable in relations between private individuals. This topic is not just of theoretical interest, but also matters in practice. If there is no European or domestic legislation implementing fundamental rights, individuals may have problems to enforce their rights in private relationships unless those rights are directly applicable.