Globalisation & Law Network seminar with Joyce de Coninck

Joyce began her presentation by introducing the recent CJEU’s case of Hamoudi v Frontex, which illustrates the flaws of the EU’s human rights system as discussed in her book. The case set the stage for a deeper dive into the EU human rights responsibility regime. Joyce outlined two main complexities. Firstly, Joyce pointed out a dissonance between different (national, EU, and international) legal orders. Secondly, she specified two categories of rules which may be invoked across the regimes, namely normative rules (e.g. international custom and EU treaties) and liability rules. 

The complexity of the EU human rights responsibility regime gives rise to several practical problems. Joyce first illustrated the issue of normative incongruence. Since obligations do not directly apply to non-state actors, it is hard to hold such actors liable. Then, Joyce highlighted the issue of liability incongruence, which creates a high risk of a responsibility gap, particularly in situations of joint conduct.

To conclude, Joyce suggested three possible solutions for improving the EU’s human rights system. These solutions included regime coordination (such as the coordination of attribution rules or through judicial dialogue), reversing the burden of proof, and tailoring human rights obligations to address the actions of non-state entities (e.g. due diligence obligations).

Joyce’s presentation was followed by a rich and lively discussion. 

Curious about the current challenges of law and governance? You can register for the upcoming research seminars organised by the Globalisation & Law Network. We look forward to seeing you there!