This unique collection constitutes the first systematic presentation of fundamental rights in the case law and doctrine of countries of Western, Middle, and Eastern Europe, and the United States (North America). Special attention is paid to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg) and the European Court of Justice (Luxembourg). Fundamental rights have not only gained an ever-increasing impact in the framework of international and regional human rights conventions, but also in the national legal orders of European and American societies. This ground-breaking collection offers a comprehensive, comparative legal overview of the general doctrine of fundamental rights, as well as a detailed analysis of specific fundamental rights, including civil liberties, economic and social rights, and non-discrimination and justiceable rights (due process). Furthermore, it clarifies the mutual impact of constitutional case law. The aim of the project is to create a well-structured set of material on human rights in order to promote a ius commune europaeum, and encourage the use of a comparative approach in judicial review by both judges and lawyers in human rights cases before national and European courts. The collection is structured as follows. Part A will be published in loose-leaf form, and will consist of a collection of national reports and European reports, documenting the evolution of case law and doctrine in the various countries. Part A (the Basic Work of which is scheduled to appear in the autumn of 2000) will be published in regular instalments. Once Part A has been completed, Part B will be published. This will consist of bound volumes, containing General Reports, which will analyse and summarise the essential conclusions to be drawn from a comparative overview of the reports contained in Part A. Part A, Basic Work, consists of the following reports: Germany, the European Court of Justice, England and Wales, Austria and Finland. Fundamental Rights in Europe and North America is the result of a collaborative effort. A large number of expert contributors, drawn from the countries covered by the collection, have contributed research under the general editorship of Professor Albrecht Weber and the guidance and supervision of a prestigious Scientific Council, consisting of: Prof. Roland Bieber, University of Lausanne (Switzerland), former legal Advisor to the European Parliament; Prof. Winfried Brugger, University of Heidelberg; Prof. Donald Kommers, University of Notre Dame (United States); Prof. Louis Favoreu, Universite Aix-en-Provence (France); Prof. Lech Garlicki, University of Warsaw, Judge at the Constitutional Court (East European Countries); Prof. Massimo Luciani, Universita Sapienza, Rome; Prof. Gustavo Zagrebelsky, Judge at the Corte Costituzionale, Rome (Italy); Prof. Rubio Llorente, Universidad Complutense, former Vice President of the Tribunal Constitucional, Madrid (Spain); Prof. Heinz Schaffer, University of Salzburg (Austria); Prof. Henry G. Schermers, University of Leiden, former member of the European Commission of Human Rights; Prof. Albrecht Weber, University of Osnabruck (Germany) -- editor; Prof. Ingolf Pernice, Humboldt University Berlin (Germany); and Prof. Manfred Zuleeg, University of Frankfurt, former judge of the ECJ.