Dr Mader presented solutions based on the case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and scientific research, and gave an overview of potential consequences. Art 19 Treaty on European Union (TEU) has turned into an operational provision to protect the independence and impartiality of courts. EU Member States must not amend their laws on the organisation of justice in such a way as to bring about a reduction in the protection of the value of the rule of law. The principle of non-regression could also be applied to other values enshrined in Art 2 TEU. However, it should not lead indirectly to an expansion of the scope of application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Further, from a perspective of constitutional pluralism, Dr Mader claimed that non-regression can be understood as a principle of homogeneity that warrants constitutional minimum standards.

Dr Mader has recently published on the above subject matter and also on the conditionality regulation in the German Europäische Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsrecht law journal (EuZW) 2021, p 129, p 917 and p 974.

The new ‘principle of non-regression’ was discussed during the celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the ELI earlier this year on a panel session with President Koen Lenaerts of the Court of Justice of the European Union, President Róbert Spanó of the European Court of Human Rights and Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders.

The lecture was followed by a vivid Q&A session with approximately 30 participants following Austrian COVID-19 guidelines.