ID - 131865100 TI - The Rule of Law in Europe : Recent Challenges and Judicial Responses AU - Elósegui, María AU - Miron, Alina AU - Motoc, Iulia PY - 2021 SN - 9783030560010 9783030560027 9783030560034 9783030560003 PB - Cham Springer International Publishing DB - UniCat KW - Legal theory and methods. Philosophy of law KW - Human rights KW - Law KW - mensenrechten KW - recht UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:131865100 AB - This book discusses the nature of the challenges that have confronted European democracies in recent years. In the past decade, the rule of law in Europe has been put under strain by both external and internal factors. The term "illiberal democracies" is sometimes used to describe the rise of a phenomenon in which the fundamental values of the European legal order, as enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, are called into question. The preservation of the independence of the judiciary, of the freedom of expression and the protection of journalists are among the values under threat. But these challenges are also present within the older democracies in which emergency regimes have become more common. As the European Union's sanctions regime shows, striking a balance between security and the rule of law, of which fundamental rights are an intrinsic part, is a constant challenge. Focusing on the European courts' responses to these threats, the book discusses how courts could provide the ultimate line of defense. The acid test of the rule of law might indeed be how it safeguards the judicial guarantees designed to protect core European values beyond the discretion of government. ER -