Abbreviations -- Acknowledgements -- Preface; Giacomo Di Federico -- Part I The Charter of Fundamental Rights in a broader perspective -- Chapter I The Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Res Publica; Ola Zetterquist -- Chapter II Fundamental rights in the EU: Legal pluralism and multi-level protection after the Lisbon Treaty; Giacomo Di Federico -- Chapter III The European Charter of Fundamental Rights and the courts; Valentina Bazzocchi -- Chapter IV The European Parliament and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; Federico Camporesi -- Chapter V Fair trial, due process and the rights of defence in the EU legal order; Marco Borraccetti -- Chapter VI EU Member States and candidate countries facing a binding Charter of Fundamental Rights: What’s new?; Luisa Ficchi -- Part II The Charter of Fundamental Rights Applied -- Chapter VII Free movement of “needy” citizens after the binding Charter. Solidarity for all?; Federico Forni -- Chapter VIII Internal market derogations in the light of the newly binding character of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; Stephen James Curzon -- Chapter IX Article 47 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and its impact on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters; Giangiuseppe Sanna -- Chapter X The Charter and the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice; Valentina Bazzocchi -- Chapter XI Social Rights in the European Union: the contribution of a binding EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; Serena Coppola -- Chapter XII The Charter of Fundamental Rights and the environment policy integration principle; Marco Lombardo -- Chapter XIII The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the social dimension of international trade; Valeria Bonavita -- Chapter XIV The European Charter of Fundamental Rights after Lisbon: a ‘timid’ Trojan horse in the domain of the common foreign and security policy?; Luca Paladini -- Bibliography -- Table of Cases -- Index.

The first part of this book reviews the multi-level system of protection currently operating in Europe and its constitutional implications. The book presents an analysis of the Charter from a legal, political and practical standpoint. It further examines the activity of the European Parliament as a fundamental rights actor, as well as the right to a fair trial and to effective judicial protection before and by the EU Courts. The second part of the volume addresses the impact of a binding Charter on specific areas of EU Law. The order of the contributions in this volume reflects the structure of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union: free circulation of persons; the internal market; the area of freedom security and justice (civil and criminal aspects); social rights protection; environmental policy; enlargement; international trade and the Common Foreign and Security Policy.