The Right to Strike in the European Union after Accession to the European Convention on Human Rights: Identifying Conflict and Achieving Coherence

TitleThe Right to Strike in the European Union after Accession to the European Convention on Human Rights: Identifying Conflict and Achieving Coherence
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2015
AuthorsVelyvyte, Vilija
JournalHuman Rights Law Review
Volume15
Issue1
Pagination73 - 100
Date Published2015///
KeywordsEurope, European Convention on Human Rights, European Union, human rights, right to strike
Abstract

This article analyses the conflict between the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) concerning protection of the right to strike in light of the European Union’s (EU) accession to the European Convention on Human Rights. It aims to determine how the CJEU should change its current position to achieve compatibility with the Convention after accession. The two courts seem to have adopted essentially opposite positions with respect to the right to strike. The ECtHR requires that practices restricting the right to strike must be justified and assessed for proportionality in light of the legitimate objectives they pursue. By contrast, the CJEU places the right to strike itself under the proportionality review to assess the lawfulness of its exercise when it interferes with EU economic freedoms. It is submitted that the CJEU needs to strive for a more equitable balance between the right to strike and economic freedoms, similar to how it considers civil and political rights in the context of the internal market.