Cluster 1 | Back to Basics: Foundations of the Rule of Law

Scope. Revisits the foundational elements of any rule of law order — the values it rests on, the institutional design that operationalises them, and the actors who apply and sustain them. Sessions examine the basic tenets of rule of law, democracy, fundamental and constitutional rights, what the rule of law is fundamentally protecting, and from what current democratic and rule of law regression across Europe stems . It includes the deliberate effort to move away from a purely defensive posture toward a more constructive, forward-looking and “soul-searching” framing.

Rationale. Democratic regression across the EU and wider Europe has exposed the fragility of arrangements once assumed permanent. Rather than reacting case-by-case, this cluster asks what the rule of law is fundamentally protecting and how to re-anchor it in principles as a foundation to promote rule of law decision-making and counter its regression.