First Fundamental Rights Documents in Europe

The academic publisher Intersentia (Antwerp) has recently edited “First Fundamental Rights Documents in Europe”, a collective volume containing different analysis of the most important documents, official acts and legislation on human rights in Europe.

The history of the evolution of human legislation in Europe usually starts with the adoption of the Magna Charta Libertatum, that this year celebrates its 800th anniversary, as it is universally considered as the first “constitutional” act recognizing inviolable rights to individuals, the most important of which was the habeas corpus, namely the right to appeal to a judge in case of unlawful detention.

While recognizing the importance of the Magna Charta in the following evolution of law, there have been equally important, although less known, official documents which has contribute in the development of the concept of human rights and it inclusion in modern European States normative framework.

The volume therefore aims at presenting the experience of 24 European Union Member States, at times in history when most of these States did not even exist, offering the first comprehensive and systematic evaluation of early fundamental rights thinking across Europe.

The book is the result of a coordinated work of different professors and scholars, among which Markku Suksi, Kalliope Agapiou-Josephides, Jean-Paul Lehners, and Manfred Nowak, each of whom has presented a specific document relating to one particular country.

As far as the Italian case is concerned, Paolo De Stefani, professor of International Protection of Human Rights at the University of Padova, has addressed the “Liber Paradisus”, an official act approved by the Municipality of Bologna in 1256. After a battle among local municipalities, Bologna decided to abolish slavery within its territory and to free all people deprived of their liberty, becoming the first abolitionist Italian city.

More useful information could be found at the publisher website in the box below.

Last update

14/12/2015