The European Union is often characterised as a constitutional democracy - a legal order structured around common values, fundamental rights, and judicial review. But what does it mean to describe the European Union as a constitutional democracy? And who ultimately safeguards its values?
The Jacques Delors Centre and Centre for Fundamental Rights at the Hertie School invite you to a keynote with Tamara Ćapeta, Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union.
We will discuss the constitutional foundations of the European Union and the role of the Court of Justice in current controversies, such as restrictions on LGBTQ content in Hungary, social housing policies in Denmark, Frontex and pushback operations, and trade agreements in the context of Western Sahara.
The keynote will be followed by a panel discussion featuring:
- Tamara Ćapeta, Advocate General, Court of Justice of the European Union
- Violeta Moreno-Lax, Professor of International Law, Director, Centre for Fundamental Rights
- Ana Bobić, Senior Researcher, Jacques Delors Centre
- Moderated by Mark Dawson, Co-Director, Jacques Delors Centre
At a time of political contestation and growing tensions between integration and national sovereignty, the discussion will address core questions of EU constitutional democracy:
- How coherent is the EU’s constitutional system if fundamental rights and constitutional values are differently understood across the Member States?
- Is the Court of Justice the right institution to actively define and defend the EU’s constitutional values?
- What role should the Court of Justice play in ensuring constitutional values and fundamental rights vis-à-vis the EU’s own institutions?
The event will conclude with a Q&A with the audience.
This discussion aims to provide a structured assessment of the EU’s constitutional order at a time of political strain, legal contestation, and renewed debates about sovereignty, integration, and the rule of law.
Register now. Seats are limited!
Speakers
Keynote
Tamara Ćapeta is Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union as of 7 October 2021. Before becoming a member of the Court, she pursued an academic career as professor of EU law at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law. She was Head of the EU Law department as well as of the postgraduate programmes in European law. She was also an academic coordinator of a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence “EU Global Leadership in the Rule of Law”. Ms Ćapeta has participated in numerous international research projects and published extensively on different topics of EU law.
Panelists
Ana Bobić is the principal investigator of the DFG-funded project ‘Judicial conflict and the reconfiguration of control in the EU constitutional order’ as Senior Researcher at the Jacques Delors Centre and Adjunct Faculty at the Hertie School. During her time at the Hertie School, she was also the coach of the Jessup International Law Moot Court team.
Violeta Moreno-Lax is the inaugural Wübben Foundation Professor of International Law and the Director of the Hertie School’s Centre for Fundamental Rights. She has published extensively in international and EU law at the intersection with border violence, global security, migration, and human rights. As a world-leading expert in these fields, she regularly consults for UN agencies, the EU institutions, and other organisations.
Moderator
Mark Dawson is Professor of European Law and Governance at the Hertie School and the Co-Director of the Jacques Delors Centre. His research focuses on EU law and particularly on how EU law affects and is affected by European politics and policymaking.
