Proportionality in Fundamental Rights Conflicts in National Measures Implementing EU Law

Pekka Savola 

University of Helsinki
April 30, 2014

Abstract:      

In this paper, proportionality and balancing of fundamental rights conflicts in national measures implementing EU law are examined. Different contexts of proportionality evaluation and fundamental rights are identified, with the focus on the aforementioned conflicts. A five-step procedure is submitted for evaluating proportionality. The procedure entails identifying the context and depth of evaluation, identifying different parties' interests, identifying the principles and national law, formulating the concrete criteria used in evaluation, and finally applying the criteria in proportionality test. The procedure is illustrated with examples of intellectual property rights enforcement using faultless third-party intermediaries and in particular website blocking orders.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 23

Keywords: proportionality, balancing, fundamental rights conflicts, IPR enforcement

Full text available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2432260