Symposium : The EEA Agreement

• Kälin, Walter 1

Abstract

I. Statement of the Problem

Ratification of the EEA Agreement by EFTA member states will bind them to an instrument which will permeate the innermost recesses of their legal systems just as was the case with the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950. It will not only entail additional commitments but also possibilities of conflict. For EFTA states, what will be the relationship between these two instruments in matters of substance and procedure? In the event of conflict, which treaty will take precedence over the other? Who will decide such conflicts? Below, we begin by briefly viewing the significance of the protection of human rights in the EEA (chapter II.). We then go on to show the extent to which human rights safeguards today form part of the European legal order (chapter III.). Finally, this overview will allow us to provide answers to the above questions (chapter IV.).

• 1Dr. Iur., LL.M, Professor at the University of Berne.