In the brief period since the Charter of Fundamental Rights has come into life it had enormous effects on fundamental rights protection in Europe. Solemnly declared on 7 December 2000, the Charter has become part of EU primary law on 1 December 2009. While already its declaration had considerable repercussions on national jurisprudence since somewhat more than a decade, its legally binding nature strengthened these effects even more. Nonetheless, many doubts remain, as the Charter was not meant to replace national fundamental rights protection. It is rather the case that the Charter often operates in parallel with national fundamental rights as Judge Nina Póltorak explains in her contribution. As Gabriel Toggenburg sets out the Charter has come along with a series of caveats “as if the Union had grown fearful of its own courage".
