Re-evaluated or Just Old-New? The Fundamental Social Rights Dimension of the Right to Work under Article 15 CFREU and in the Case-Law of the CJEU

Series Legal Studies Issues Volume 14, No. 2, 2025 Re-evaluated or Just Old-New? The Fundamental Social Rights Dimension of the Right to Work under Article 15 CFREU and in the Case-Law of the CJEU

Volume 14, No. 2, 2025

Zsófia PAPP

Acta Univ. Sapientiae, Legal Studies, 14, 2 (2025) 187–207

DOI: 10.47745/AUSLEG.2025.14.2.07

Abstract. The right to work, widely regarded as a cornerstone of fundamental labour rights and arguably the most universal among social rights, may be examined across diverse national and international frameworks. Moreover, the analysis lends itself to multiple perspectives and approaches. Yet, owing to its social rights character, the right to work suffers from conceptual ambiguity: there is no settled consensus on its scope, normative content, or legal consequences. Its economic and political embeddedness further challenges the efforts of both legislators and courts that grapple with ascribing a coherent and uniform meaning to this right. This paper focuses on Article 15 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which enshrines the freedom to choose an occupation and the right to engage in work. As a pioneering instrument in bridging the gap between first- and second-generation human rights, the Charter not only placed social rights firmly on the European integration agenda but also elevated them to the status of fundamental freedoms and human rights within the EU legal framework. The analysis proceeds along two axes. First, it examines the content and the background of formulation of Article 15, both on its own terms and in parallel with other international social rights instruments. Second, it assesses how the Court of Justice of the European Union has interpreted the right to work since the Treaty of Lisbon, when the CFREU acquired binding legal force. Through this dual lens, the study seeks to assess and understand differences in articulation, examine evolving case-law, and highlight broader trends regarding the development, scope, and limitations of labour rights protection within the European Union.

Keywords: freedom to choose an occupation, right to engage in work, CFREU, CJEU case-law, fundamental labour rights, decent work

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Volume 14, No. 2, 2025

Rule of Law: Supranationalization from the Perspective of Slovakia, Lilla GARAYOVÁ Protecting Children against Digital Harm – Novelties and Challenges of the Romanian Regulatory Framework, Zsolt KOKOLY Poland’s Experience in the Face of the Rule of Law Dispute: From 2015 to 2024, Artur KOTOWSKI ‘The Expropriation of the Expropriators’: Soviet- Type Nationalization as Social Engineering in Selected East-Central European States, Bence Zsolt KOVÁCS Rule of Law: Supranationalization from the Perspective of Central and Eastern European Countries. The Case of Hungary, Péter KRUZSLICZ Rule of Law: Supranationalization from the Perspective of Bulgaria, Deyana MARCHEVA Re-evaluated or Just Old-New? The Fundamental Social Rights Dimension of the Right to Work under Article 15 CFREU and in the Case-Law of the CJEU, Zsófia PAPP The Experience of Certain Central European Countries with the Rule of Law Procedures. The Case of the Czech Republic, David SEHNÁLEK Rule of Law: Supranationalization from the Perspective of Central and Eastern European Countries (Ukraine), Stanislav SHEVCHUK The Rule of Law: Supranationalization. The Case of Serbia, Bojan TUBIC Legal Challenges of Hybrid Warfare: Accountability of Mercenaries and Private Military Companies, Csongor Balázs VERESS Rule of Law: Supranationalization from the Perspective of Central and Eastern European Countries – Montenegro1, Nebojša VUČINIĆ, Sanja GRBOVIĆ Front pages in PDF, Inside covers in PDF,

Re-evaluated or Just Old-New? The Fundamental Social Rights Dimension of the Right to Work under Article 15 CFREU and in the Case-Law of the CJEU - Acta Universitatis Sapientiae