The EU's accession to the ECHR

The integration of the substantive provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) has been a goal of Community Institutions since 1953. Moreover, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has recognised the ECHR's "special significance" for over 30 years. However until the Lisbon Treaty, the EU lacked the legal competence to enact general rules or to conclude international conventions in the human rights field.