In this episode we’re delving into a topic that sits at the heart of how EU law functions: the principle of mutual trust. Though it's a technical subject, it's deeply intertwined with the existential questions about what the EU is and aspires to be. The principle of mutual trust isn’t just a legal precept; it’s a litmus test for the health of European integration itself. 

Joining me is Cecilia Rizcallah. She is professor of European Law at the Brussels campus of UC Louvain and co-president of the newly established Belgian Association for European Union Law. Cecilia has published extensively on mutual trust, including a prize-winning book which is available in both French and English.

In our conversation, we unpack the principle of mutual trust through real case-law examples. We explore the challenges of applying that principle in civil law, in criminal law and in asylum law. And we discuss how this foundational principle is being tested by Europe's current "crisis of values".

Mentioned:

• C. Rizcallah, The principle of mutual trust in European Union law: an essential principle facing a crisis of values (2022, English edition)
• C. Rizcallah, Le principe de confiance mutuelle en droit de l'Union européenne : Un principe essentiel à l'épreuve d'une crise de valeurs (2020, French edition)
• C. Rizcallah, "The principle of mutual trust and the protection of fundamental rights in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice: A critical look at the Court of Justice’s stone-by-stone approach", Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 2023
• C. Rizcallah, "The Systemic Equivalence Test and the Presumption of Equivalent Protection in European Human Rights Law—A Critical Appraisal", German Law Journal 2023
• C. Rizcallah,"Mutual trust under the European Arrest Warrant and ongoing challenges for fundamental rights: Proposal for a unique reasoned risk-based test ", EU Law Live Weekend Edition No 174, February 2024
• Case C-7/98 Dieter Krombach
• My Daughter's Killer (Netflix documentary)
• Case C-491/10 PPU Aguirre Zarraga
• Case C-261/22 G.N.
• Case C-163/17 Abubacarr Jawo
• ECtHR Romeo Castaño v Begium  (8351/17)
• ECtHR Bivolaru and Moldovan v France (40324/16 and 12623/17)

Recommendations:

• Amin Maalouf, Les Identités meurtrières (In the name of identity: violence and the need to belong)
• Gisèle Halimi and Annick Cojean, Une farouche liberté (A fierce freedom)
• Green Border (movie directed by Agnieszka Holland)

The launch event of the Belgian Association for EU Law (BEDER) will be held on November 22, 2024, at 4 PM at the Egmont Palace in Brussels. Attendance is reserved for BEDER members. Not a member yet? Contact secretariat@beder.be to join.

Comments? Guest suggestions? Email me at felix@europafelix.eu.