The Protection of Fundamental Rights in the Case Law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities
1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 169 (1995) G. C. Rodriguez Iglesias. President, Court of Justice of the European Communities, Professor of International Law, University of Granada. The Court of Justice of the European Communities has, for two reasons, a special responsibility to protect fundamental rights. First, in the Community legal order there exists no catalogue of fundamental rights having constitutional or legislative status; secondly, respect for fundamental rights is essential as a basic element of the common patrimony upon which the very foundations of the Community rest; and fundamental rights are an indispensable prerequisite for the accession of a State […]