Legal Protection in Europe

The EU System of Legal Protection

A Union which aspires to be a community governed by law must provide its citizens with a complete and effective system of legal protection. The European Union’s system of legal protection meets this requirement. It recognises the right of the individual to effective judicial protection of the rights derived from EU law. This protection is one of the fundamental legal principles resulting from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States and the European Convention on Human Rights (Articles 6 and 13) and guaranteed by the EU’s legal system (Court of Justice, General Court and the specialised courts). For this purpose a series of procedures is available, as described below.