part vi • european legal integration • nina-louisa arold lorenz their work. The answers were then categorized by one of four groups: geographical and legal background (their legal families); historical political background (the dramatic political changes of the 1990s); individual vocational background (individual career paths); and shared commitment (legal culture, mostly expressed in interviews). The empirical study of case law at theECtHRscrutinized voting at a general level, at the subject matter level, and in individual sample cases; for the CJEU, because of the opacity of voting outcomes, the analysis was designed differently so that cases concerning human rights were selected.12 Before we discover the elements of the kaleidoscope by evaluating the interviews and other data, we need to understand the institutions, how judges are assigned to the bench, and how and where individual differences intersect. Both courts are in Europe (Strasbourg and Luxembourg) and have special regard to the traditions of member states. The preamble for the ECHRstates that member states are ‘like-minded and have a common heritage of political traditions, ideals, freedom and the rule of law’, while according to Article 6 the Treaty of the European Union (TEU), the Union ‘is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, principles which are common to the Member States’ (TEUArt. 6 § 1).13 According toTEUArt. 6 § 3 the Union shall ‘respect the national identities of its Member States’. Both were Western European reactions to the horrors of the Second World War, designed to protect individual human rights and create lasting peace through economic growth and stability. Both systems grew after the fall of the Berlin Wall to include former Eastern Bloc states. Set up in 1959 by the Council of Europe, theECtHRmonitors states’ compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). 12 Ibid., ch. 4 at 125 ff. 13 Preamble of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Council of Europe Treaty Series, No. 5. 302 Finding the kaleidoscope
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