Court of Justice of the European Union—‘stone-by-stone' case-based reasoning

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

“…2 Many questions in relation to its application have also had to be settled by the Court of Justice, particularly with regard to the risks that it can pose for the protection of fundamental rights in the area of freedom, security and justice (hereafter AFSJ). In this regard, the Court of Justice adopted a 'stone-by-stone approach', 3 by progressively specifying the limits framing the principle of mutual trust, on the basis of the specific cases it had to handle. In order to fully comprehend the scope of the principle of mutual trust in the AFSJ, it is thus imperative to conduct an intersectoral review of the most significant Court's judgments shaping this principle.…”