The justiciability of social rights in the Council of Europe

Abstract

Among human rights, social rights are less protected than civil and political rights. However, within the Council of Europe, the European Social Charter and the ECHR systems offer good conditions for the emergence of justiciability of social rights.  Indeed the European Court of Human Rights through its dynamic interpretation enlarges the field of protected rights and includes social rights. Moreover the Social Charter System has been reinforced with the institution of collective complaints which permits a quasi-judicial guarantee of social rights. Finally national judges accept increasingly direct enforceability of the European Social Charter. The range of this movement is however heterogeneous. Generally, the more the respect of the right will impose the adoption of positive measures from the State, the more its justiciability will be limited