Joined Cases C-402/05P and C-415/05P, Yassin Abdullah Kadi and Al Barakaat International Foundation v. Council of the European Union and Commission of the European Communities Judgment of the European Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) 3 September 2008, Not Yet Published

Abstract: With its Kadi-judgment, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) firmly rejected the first instance Kadi/Yusuf-judgments of the Court of First Instance (CFI). The ECJ made unambiguously clear that Community law, in particular its basic, core fundamental rights values prevail over any international law obligations of the EC and its Member States, including UN Security Council Resolutions and the UN Charter. As a consequence thereof, individuals targeted by UN sanctions must have access to full judicial review in order to be able to ensure the effective protection of their fundamental rights, including procedural rights as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). As a result, the ECJ proved that the Community is indeed based on the rule of law and that the fight against terrorism – how important it may be – cannot be used as a justification for completely abrogating European constitutional values as guaranteed within the Community and its Member States.

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