欧州統合過程における教育の位置付けに関する序論的考察

 This article aims at exploring the character of education corresponding to the enlargement and deepening of European integration; specifically, the focus is placed on the fundamental rights protection in the European Union (EU). In addition, the Council of Europe (CoE) is also considered, particularly, the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). As the CoE plays an essential role in human rights protection, and it has kept a close relationship with the EU, both regional international organizations need to be considered.<br>  The early-stage role of the EU focused on economic integration. During the course of its development and expansion, the necessity to guarantee fundamental rights has gradually recognized and grown to hold a cardinal position. Consequently, the significance of fundamental rights throughout the EU has grown large, resulting in the drafting of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in 2000 – the first catalogue of fundamental rights in the EU –, and its incorporation into the fundamental treaties on the EU through the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, which serves to confer the legally binding-character to the Charter. Moreover, the current EU Treaty provides the accidence of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights.  In parallel, the principles of the prohibition of discrimination and the requirement of equality have been developed in EU law, which was not originally on the basis of the fundamental rights protection but on the necessity to promote the economic integration. Education was initially regarded simply as one domain of the policy to promote integration; however, with the mainstreaming of the fundamental rights protection, such dimension in educational policy has become accentuated.  The development of the principles of human rights protections and the prohibition of discrimination in the EU, which has been influenced by the European Convention on Human Rights, also influences the interpretation of the Convention by the ECtHR. As mentioned above, the EU shall / will accede to the European Convention on Human Rights, it can be considered that the impact of the ECtHR on the EU will grow stronger.  The analysis of the interaction between these two regional organizations in Europe argues the following three points:  (1) Fundamental rights protection holds a central place in the current EU institution;  (2) Educational policy, which was a part of economic integration policy in the early stage of European integration, has assumed the character of fundamental rights protection under the influence of the ECtHR;  (3) The principles of fundamental rights protection and the prohibition of discrimination in EU law have been influenced by the ECtHR, and they will inversely impact the interpretation of the Convention.  Throughout this analysis of the European integration process, this article attempts to provide a point of view to perceive various dimensions of educational policy with a focus on human rights protection.