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Abstract

The goal of this contribution is to develop a concept for Europe’s constitutional jurisdiction, which is essentially exercised by two courts: the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. We argue that the two courts can be best described as the ‘two senates’ of Europe’s constitutional jurisdiction. The image of ‘two senates’ expresses the idea that the two courts bear a shared responsibility for the European legal space to which they each contribute in specific ways. The European Court of Justice’s role, as ‘first senate’, is best understood through its contribution to European political unity by fostering and controlling European public authority and ensuring its uniform effect in the European legal space. The European Court of Human Rights, which we consider Europe’s ‘second senate’, aims to entrench a set of basic norms—European human rights—in the European legal space. The contribution employs the concept of ‘two senates’ to trace the genesis of Europe’s constitutional jurisdiction, to conceptualize the differences between the courts’ constitutional work, and to analyse their relationship.